Charlie Kirk praised shooter Tyler Robinson's religion moments before being gunned down? Shocking twist revealed

The man accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk has been identified as Tyler Robinson, 22, a resident of Utah. Robinson was taken into custody on 12 September after his father recognised him in surveillance images. The father then reportedly contacted a family friend who informed the sheriff's office.

It remained unclear what the motive was in the Kirk shooting, or the political ideology of the alleged gunman. Robinson's family said he had become "more political" in recent years, according to police.

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Charlie Kirk praised Robinson's religion?

Moments before the right-wing political conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot dead at a Utah college event, he delivered a glowing tribute to the Mormon faith, which the alleged killer himself had been raised in, reports The Daily Mail. The founder of Turning Point USA had appreciated the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and bantered with a Mormon audience member when a high-powered rifle round struck him in the neck, killing him.


"I love how Mormons send missionaries around the world, I love how polite they are. … Half my team is Mormon - Mormons are great people," Kirk told a rapt audience, drawing a loud cheer shortly before he was killed.

"I'm an evangelical Christian, but I'm not one of those guys that hates on Mormons," his words were captured in video footage posted to social media as saying.

Tyler Robinson was arrested following a frantic 33-hour manhunt. According to authorities, Tyler fired the deadly shot from outside the venue using a scoped hunting rifle and later discarded the weapon in a wooded area near campus.

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The officials also found two unused bullet casings near the crime scene that were reportedly inscribed with anti-fascist slogans, including one that read: 'Hey, fascist! Catch!' The arrest of Tyler Robinson was announced by Utah Governor Spencer Cox at a press conference earlier on Friday, confirming Robinson's identity and lauding the family's reluctant role in his capture.

Why did Tyler Robinson kill Charlie Kirk?

Utah Governor Spencer Cox said a family member interviewed by investigators stated that Tyler Robinson had become "more political" in recent years. The relative also said that during a dinner conversation before the attack, Robinson had discussed Kirk's upcoming event at Utah Valley University, according to Cox.

"They talked about why they didn't like him and the viewpoints that he had," Cox said referring to the conversation.

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According to public records, Robinson had in the past registered as an unaffiliated, or nonpartisan, voter in Utah. His parents, Matthew Carl Robinson and Amber Denise Robinson are registered Republicans, according to state records.

Robinson was not enrolled at UVU, the site of the shooting. He was a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship programme at Dixie Technical College.

"He previously spent one semester at Utah State University in 2021 and earned concurrent enrolment credits through Utah Tech University while in high school between 2019 and 2021," the Utah Board of Higher Education said.

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Investigators say Robinson was steeped in online culture, pointing to inscriptions on shell casings linked to the case.

Authorities stated that Robinson also seemed to have been active on Discord, a social media platform originally favored by gamers but now widely used by various communities. Investigators were shown by his roommate a series of Discord messages from a user named "Tyler," which mentioned a rifle "drop point" along with instructions on how to retrieve and conceal the weapon.

Discord later issued a statement saying his account had been suspended. "We have removed the suspect's account for violating our off-platform behavior policy," it said.