Who is Tyler Robinson? The person of interest in Charlie Kirk murder
By CNN, September 12, 2025The man arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk is in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College – one of 16 Utah System of Higher Education institutions, said a spokesperson for another school in the system, Utah Valley University, where Kirk was killed.
Tyler Robinson is a third-year student in the apprenticeship program at the school, the spokesperson said.
He grew up in Washington, Utah, about 5 miles from Dixie Technical College and a 3 1/2-hour drive from Utah Valley University,
Robinson also attended Utah State University for one semester in 2021 and received college credit through Utah Tech University from 2019 to 2021 while he was in high school, the spokesperson said.
The 22-year-old grew up in the suburban community of Washington, Utah, and was a high-achieving student.
He had no party affiliation and didn’t vote in the two most recent elections, voter registration records show.
But a family member told investigators Robinson “had become more political in recent years and had lashed out at Kirk, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said.
A family member of Robinson reached out to a family friend, who then “contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with information that he had confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident,” Cox said.
Robinson was taken into custody in Utah at 10 pm local time on September 12, 2025, 33 hours after Kirk’s killing, FBI Director Kash Patel said.
The person of interest posted messages on Discord, a group chat app, which his roommate showed to investigators, according to Cox.
Watch: Trump hails arrest of Kirk’s gunman, calls for justice
He is being held at a county jail in Spanish Fork, Utah, on multiple initial charges, an officer of the Utah County Jail told CNN this morning.
The charges that allow Robinson to be held include aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm and obstruction of justice, the officer said.
Robinson has not been charged formally yet, and initial charging documents aren’t available at this time, other authorities in Utah say.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said this morning that the state will be working on formal charging documents in the coming days. Those documents would include additional information on probable cause for a case.
“The county attorney will be working very closely with Mr. Kirk’s family, as those documents and decisions are prepared and made,” Cox said.
Authorities have three days to file those documents in preparation for a preliminary court hearing, where Robinson would first go before a judge, likely early next week, the governor said.