Charlie Kirk shooting suspect is in custody. Here's what we know about the investigation.
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University on Wednesday as he addressed a large crowd at an outdoor debate. Officials described it as a "targeted attack," and it drew condemnation from both sides of the political aisle as authorities launched a massive search for the suspect.
On Friday, officials announced they have a person in custody for the fatal shooting. They identified him as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who resides in southern Utah.
Kirk, who co-founded the right-wing advocacy group Turning Point USA, was 31. He is survived by his wife, Erika, and two young children.
Here is what we know so far about the assassination and ongoing investigation.
Who is the suspect?
More details about Robinson and what happened before and after the attack are emerging.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Robinson is not a student at Utah Valley University, where the attack took place, and has been living with his family in Washington County, located in the southwestern corner of the state. Family members said Robinson had "become more political" in recent years, the governor said.
Utah State University said Robinson briefly attended the school for one semester in 2021.
FBI Director Kash Patel said he was taken into custody at 10 p.m. local time Thursday night, though Utah officials said it was in the early hours of Friday.
President Trump first broke the news on "Fox and Friends" that someone had been taken into custody.
"With a high degree of certainty, we have him in custody. Everyone did a great job," the president said.
Cox said messages on Discord, an instant messages and social media platform, that were reviewed by investigators referenced a rifle wrapped in a towel that was left in the woods and engravings on bullets. The messages came from a person named "Tyler" and were shared with an unidentified individual, Cox said.
The governor said authorities believe Robinson acted alone and said there is currently no information that would lead to additional arrests. He told reporters Friday morning he can't answer questions about the possible motive of the suspect.
Charging documents will likely be filed early next week, he said.
How the suspect was captured
Cox said Robinson's father recognized his son as the subject of photos that were released by law enforcement and urged him to turn himself in. Robinson's father also reported his son to clergy, who took the tip to the U.S. Marshals Service, two law enforcement sources said.
Investigators reviewed video footage and said they identified Robinson arriving on Utah Valley University's campus in a gray Dodge Challenger at around 8:29 a.m. local time Wednesday, the day of the shooting, according to the governor. Robinson was wearing a plain maroon T-shirt, light-colored shorts, a black hat with a white logo and light-colored shoes, Cox said.
He is believed to have changed clothing on the roof, where the shot was fired from, before changing back into what he was originally wearing. When investigators encountered Robinson, he was wearing clothing consistent with that outfit, the governor said.
Tracking the suspect
On Thursday, Utah Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason described the suspect they were seeking as a male who "blended in" with the college community and appeared to be college age.
The public safety department and the Salt Lake City FBI office posted images of someone they called a "person of interest," showing an individual appearing to wear a dark long-sleeve shirt, a hat and sunglasses. More photos posted later on Thursday showed the person wearing a backpack.
Mason said investigators were able to track the shooter's movements before and after the assassination. He said the gunman is believed to have arrived on campus at 11:52 a.m. local time on Wednesday and moved through stairwells to the roof of a building near where Kirk's event was taking place, which was the shooting location.
Mason said the shooter moved to the other side of the building after firing a single shot, then jumped off and fled into a neighborhood off campus. Investigators contacted homeowners with cameras and witnesses to identify leads, he said.
In a news briefing Thursday evening in Orem, Utah, with FBI Director Kash Patel in attendance, officials released security video that showed a man — whom Mason called a suspect — running across the roof and then climbing down the side of the building immediately after the shooting.
As he climbed off the edge of the building and dropped down, he "left some palm impressions, some smudges, some places we're looking to collect DNA," along with a shoe print that indicated he was wearing Converse tennis shoes, Mason told reporters while showing the video.
"It's important to note his black t-shirt, his black pants, and there appears to be some white on the soles of those Converse tennis shoes," Mason said. "Those are all identifiable items that we're looking for."
After dropping off the building, the video showed the man moving across a grassy area before entering traffic. Mason said he crossed the street into a wooded area, where the firearm believed to have been used in the shooting was later found.
The FBI said it was offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information that leads law enforcement to identify and arrest the person or people involved in Kirk's assassination. Patel said authorities had received more than 11,000 leads as of Friday morning.
Gun and bullet casings recovered
FBI special-agent-in-charge Robert Bohls said Thursday that investigators recovered a "high-powered, bolt-action rifle," which they believe was the weapon used in the assassination. It was found in a wooded area where the shooter fled and was wrapped in a towel, according to Bohls.
Cox said that there were inscriptions on the casings of the bullet that was fired, as well as on the casings of three bullets that were not fired.
The fired bullet casing contained the inscription, "Notices bulges OwO what's this?" An unfired bullet casing read, "Hey fascist, catch!" And a second unfired casing read, "oh bella ciao, bella cio, bella ciao, ciao, ciao." A third unfired casing said, "If you read this, you are gay."
Cox didn't speculate on the meaning of the inscriptions.
Investigators also have a footwear impression, palm print and forearm imprints that will be analyzed, the FBI official said.
Timeline of "targeted attack"
Cox said Friday morning that the suspect was seen on surveillance camera footage arriving on the university campus at approximately 8:29 a.m. in a gray Dodge Challenger. On Thursday, officials had said that the shooter arrived near the campus at around 11:52 a.m. It wasn't immediately clear if the suspect remained on campus the entire time.
The event where Kirk was speaking was scheduled to begin in the UVU courtyard at noon.
A CBS News review of livestream footage and video metadata indicates Kirk was shot around 12:23 p.m, which is also when the FBI's Patel said Kirk was shot. He was struck in the neck by a single gunshot.
A map produced by CBS News' Confirmed team shows where Kirk was when he was shot — in the central courtyard of Utah Valley University, which is surrounded by campus buildings.
A university spokeswoman said Wednesday that they believed the shot was fired from the Losee Center. A law enforcement source told CBS News that the gunman appeared to have fired from the building's roof.
The FBI released a video — timestamped at 12:23 p.m. local time— that appears to show a person climbing off a roof at Utah Valley University and fleeing the scene. Dispatch audio reviewed by CBS News described a person on the roof of a nearby building wearing black clothing and carrying a long rifle.
Video captured at 2:37 p.m. shows officers searching an area around a quarter mile north of the campus.
At 2:40, more than two hours after the shooting, Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social that Kirk had died.
While authorities have not specified a potential motive for the shooting, Mason said they believe it was a "targeted attack toward one individual." Only one shot was fired, and Kirk was the only victim, the commissioner said.
Cox called the shooting "a political assassination," while Mr. Trump, in a video posted to Truth Social, blamed it on "radical left political violence," which he said "has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives."
Charlie Kirk's influence in politics
Kirk was shot while he was speaking at a "Prove Me Wrong" debate, a trademark event for Kirk's Turning Point USA, which is a conservative organization focused on young people. He would hold political debates with a group that usually consisted of left-leaning attendees.
Kirk had visited the Utah university as part of a nationwide tour of college campuses that was scheduled to continue for the next two months. About 3,000 people attended the outdoor event where he was assassinated, the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a statement.
Mr. Trump called Kirk legendary, saying, "No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us."
Kirk was a close Trump ally and was credited with galvanizing younger voters during his campaign. He made it his mission to engage more young people in politics, and register them to vote. Kirk was also a close friend of the president's son, Donald Trump, Jr.
Kirk was the host of "The Charlie Kirk Show," a daily conservative talk radio show and amassed millions of followers on social media.
Kirk's politics, however, weren't without controversy. He pushed false claims about voter fraud after Mr. Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, stoked skepticism about the COVID-19 pandemic and spread anti-trans rhetoric. He also amplified the "Great Replacement" conspiracy, which is based on the belief that there's a plot to replace White people with minorities.
He was a friend of JD Vance, who said Kirk advocated "in public and private" for Mr. Trump to pick him as his running mate last year.
"So much of the success we've had in this administration traces directly to Charlie's ability to organize and convene," Vance said after Kirk was killed. "He didn't just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government."