Charlie Kirk Shooting

The shooting of Charlie Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus in September 2025 sparked a wide range of reactions across the country ... including an intense manhunt for the political commentator's killer.

The media figure's fans didn't have to wait long before authorities arrested Tyler Robinson, who's been accused of firing the single rifle shot that took Kirk's life.

We're going to look into the personal background of the accused murderer and see what led up to the harrowing events of September 10th.

Robinson's originally from Washington County, Utah ... located roughly 260 miles from the site of the shooting.

The murder suspect reportedly performed well during his high school years, and his mother made a post on her Facebook page to announce he'd earned a 4.0 GPA and scored highly on his ACT.

He received a scholarship to attend Utah State University, although he only went there for one semester.

Robinson, who was raised with two younger brothers, had no criminal record prior to the alleged shooting.

Robinson was unaffiliated with a political party, and while he was registered to vote at the time of the shooting, voting records listed him as "inactive," meaning he hadn't cast a ballot in the last two general elections.

His parents, however, were both registered as Republicans, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Robinson's family recently told investigators he had become increasingly interested in politics prior to the shooting, and the murder suspect described Kirk as being "full of hate."

He allegedly left inscriptions on several bullet casings, one of which included a reference to the song "Bella Ciao," which was dedicated to Italian resistance against Nazi fascists during World War II.

Robinson was taken into custody on the evening of September 11, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.

The murder suspect allegedly confessed his role in the shooting to his father, who urged his son to turn himself in. Robinson initially refused -- saying he'd rather commit suicide -- but later changed his mind. His father then contacted a youth pastor for assistance, and the pastor called authorities.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox went on to thank the individuals "who did the right thing" at a press conference regarding the murder suspect's arrest.

11:00 AM PT -- Utah County attorney Jeff Gray plans to file charges on Tuesday September 16, 2025. The first court appearance for Tyler Robinson will be 3:00 PM MDT the same day.

Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old suspect in the fatal Charlie Kirk shooting, has been arrested and booked for aggravated murder and weapons charges ... according to the probable cause affidavit.

Robinson has been booked on aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury and obstruction of justice. These are all state charges.

As mentioned by officials multiple times the past 2 days, the death penalty is an option in the state of Utah.

Discord was not used by Tyler Robinson to either plan the murder of Charlie Kirk or to hide the evidence ... TMZ has learned.

A Discord spokesperson tells TMZ ... "In the course of our investigation, we identified a Discord account associated with the suspect, but have found no evidence that the suspect planned this incident or promoted violence on Discord."

The statement goes on ... "The messages referenced in recent reporting about planning details do not appear to be Discord messages. These were communications between the suspect's roommate and a friend after the shooting, where the roommate was recounting the contents of a note the suspect had left elsewhere."

Authorities say Robinson's roommate showed them Robinson had made "a joke" on Discord and then showed investigators the messages, which included "'Tyler' stating a need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush ... and a message referring to having left the rifle wrapped in a towel." Discord seems to be saying these communications were not on its platform ... rather on a note that Robinson had written, off the site, to his roommate.

BTW ... Discord says it has removed Robinson's account.

The man who allegedly shot Charlie Kirk has been identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson.

Robinson was partly turned in by a youth pastor. Tyler had allegedly confessed to the murder to his father, who urged his son to turn himself in. Our sources say Tyler initially refused, saying he'd rather commit suicide, but then changed his mind. We're told the father then contacted the youth pastor -- who also works with the U.S. Marshals -- for assistance. Our sources say the pastor then called the Marshals and the FBI.

Robinson lives in Utah and has been on the run since Kirk's assassination Wednesday.

The Governor of Utah took the mic Friday with a dramatic statement, "We got him."

Utah Governor Spencer Cox announced Robinson's dad reached out to a youth pastor, who contacted the U.S. Marshals with information that Robinson assassinated Charlie Kirk. As we reported, Robinson confessed to his dad, but was resisting turning himself in, and even threatened to kill himself. We're told Tyler finally agreed to surrender, and the dad contacted the youth pastor, who also works with the Marshals so he reached out to them.

Family told investigators Robinson had become more political recently, and when Charlie Kirk's planned appearance at Utah Valley University came up ... Robinson said Kirk was "full of hate" and "spreading hate."

President Trump just dropped a bombshell ... the person of interest in the Charlie Kirk assassination is now in custody!

Trump made the stunning revelation on "Fox & Friends" Friday morning ... saying he believes "with a high degree of certainty" that the possible shooter has been apprehended. And get this ... Trump says he only learned the news about 5 minutes before making his TV appearance.

President Trump has announced the gunman suspected of shooting and killing Charlie Kirk Wednesday has been taken into custody -- and TMZ found a close-up view of what appears to be his shirt.

Check it out -- the shirt is being sold on eBay by multiple sellers and reportedly originated from the Disabled Veterans National Foundation. As you can see, it looks exactly like the one the suspect is wearing in images authorities released of him Thursday.

Investigators paid close attention to the shooter's apparel during a press conference Thursday, noting the American flag and Eagle on the black T-shirt. The suspect was also wearing dark pants, Converse sneakers and a black baseball cap with a triangle on it.

The person of interest in the Charlie Kirk assassination walked by several neighborhood cameras -- as the FBI said -- and TMZ has video that appears to show him walking toward the Utah campus where Kirk was shot ... while concealing his weapon.

TMZ obtained chilling video that shows a man dressed in all black matching the description of the FBI's person of interest hobbling down a residential street Wednesday in Orem, Utah at 11:49 AM ... heading toward the Utah Valley University campus just a couple of blocks away.

Remember, the FBI has said the individual arrived on campus at 11:52 AM.

After the shooting -- at 12:29 PM, just 6 minutes after Charlie was shot and as campus is being cleared -- you see students walking in the opposite direction, and in the background, in an unpaved area behind some homes, there's someone dressed in black running through a backyard.

Everyone else in the video is calmly walking down the paved road away from the scene.

4:56 PM PT -- Air Force Two has just landed in Arizona after a short flight from Utah ... with Vice President J.D. Vance helping bring Charlie Kirk's body and casket to his home state.

The casket was just unloaded from the plane upon landing in Phoenix.

Charlie's widow, Erika, was spotted walking down the stairs from the plane holding hands with Vance's wife, Second Lady Usha Vance.

The casket is now being transported through Phoenix in a white hearse, with a motorcade following behind.

Charlie Kirk's body is officially on its way to Arizona ... 'cause new photos show the conservative commentator's body being flown to his home state on Air Force Two.

Vice President J.D. Vance just took off from Utah after Charlie's body and casket were loaded onto the plane.

Charlie's casket was transported in a Cadillac hearse to an airfield where AF2 was waiting to take him to his home state.

The death of Charlie Kirk at the age of 31 at an event in Utah in September 2025 led to widespread reactions from fans and detractors alike.

We're also thinking his loved ones, especially his parents Robert and Kimberly, had to have been devastated by his passing.

Here's a look into the lives of the media powerhouse's parents and how they factored into his early life in politics.

Robert and Kimberly raised Charlie in Prospect Heights, Illinois, located just outside of Chicago.

Robert worked in construction, and he ran an architectural firm throughout the media figure's childhood.

The commentator's father was involved with the construction of Trump Tower in New York City, according to The Independent.

His mother formerly worked as a trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange before she changed careers and became a mental health counselor.

While Charlie became widely known for his outspokenness about conservatism in the United States, his parents were much quieter about their political beliefs.

The media figure spoke about his parents in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, where he described them as moderate Republicans.

However, Charlie's father was politically active behind the scenes, and he was one of Mitt Romney's major donors during the politician's 2012 presidential campaign, according to The New York Times.

Robert reportedly supported his son when he founded Turning Point USA, and helped come up with the organization's name.

Robert and Kimberly were around to see their son become a father when he welcomed a daughter in August 2022.

Their son shared his eldest child with his wife Erika Frantzve, whom he married in May 2021, and they welcomed a son three years later.

However, Robert and Kimberly lost their son when he was shot and killed after answering a question about mass shootings at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on September 10.

Charlie Kirk's alleged shooter scrawled political messages on the equipment brought to the murder scene ... expressing support for the transgender community while making antifascist remarks.

A bulletin -- posted online by conservative commentator Steven Crowder -- was sent around to agents in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. We've confirmed the authenticity of the bulletin with our federal law enforcement sources.

In the message, the ATF claims "All cartridges have engraved wording on them, expressing transgender and anti-fascist ideology." It does not get more specific as to what the messages say.

Former Congressman Jason Chaffetz was in the crowd when conservative political activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated at a university in Utah, and he says America can't let the tragedy stop folks with different views from voicing their opinions in a civilized manner.

Jason joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and we asked him what Charlie's killing means for the future of America, and political events and gatherings held in public spaces ... like the campus tour Charlie was doing when he was shot dead.

Harvey and Jason go way back and have always had spirited and civil debates on a host of issues they disagree on ... and Jason says that's the spirit Charlie embodied, and it's something we can't lose sight of as a country.

Joe Rogan and Charlie Sheen learned about Charlie Kirk getting shot live on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast ... and you can see their raw reactions in a chilling video.

Check out the sobering clip -- the podcaster and TV personality is nearly speechless as his production team delivers the horrible news. Sheen, meanwhile, notes that this was a political assassination and that no one deserves to die for having a different view from someone else.

Once Joe is able to gather his thoughts, he denounces anyone celebrating the tragedy, reiterating that Charlie was a "pretty reasonable" guy who simply debated people across the U.S. He goes on to lament about the current political climate in the U.S., explaining that he believes people have fallen into a polarizing "trap."

Charlie Kirk's supporters have been paying tribute to him since he was shot to death on Wednesday ... and, a few of his close friends in Congress are trying to immortalize him on Capitol Hill forever.

12 Republicans in the House of Representatives signed a letter addressed to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson ... which begins by laying out Wednesday's tragic events before highlighting all the good Kirk's done via Turning Point USA.

The letter calls out the political left for creating "a toxic environment where one side finds it acceptable to stoke fear and violence to silence civil dissent" ... then asks Speaker Johnson to direct that a statue of Kirk be placed in the United States Capitol.

5:33 PM PT -- The Utah Department of Public Safety just released additional photos of the person of interest.

The new angles show clearer images of his clothing, face, features and accessories.

9:50 AM PT -- The FBI has come out and said they are offering a reward up to $100,000 for information that could lead to the identification or arrest of the suspected shooter.

The feds just released an image of a person of interest in the Charlie Kirk shooting.

The FBI says ... "We are asking for the public's help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University."

FBI Salt Lake City released two still images Thursday showing a white man in a black long-sleeved shirt and jeans. He's also wearing a hat and dark sunglasses.

The assassination of Charlie Kirk has rocked the country, and it's hit Donald Trump and his family especially hard ... POTUS and the influential activist were close friends.

#47's golf star granddaughter Kai Trump also spent a lot of time with Kirk ... and now she's opening up about the horrific incident.

"I am deeply saddened to hear the news about Charlie Kirk," the 18-year-old said on her Instagram story. "My heart goes out to his wife, Erika, and their two children."

18-year-old Kai also talked about the Trumps' friendship with Kirk.