DNA evidence found near scene of Charlie Kirk's shooting matches
suspect, FBI director says
[September 16, 2025]
By JESSE BEDAYN and JOHN SEEWER
OREM, Utah (AP) — DNA on a towel wrapped around a rifle found near where
conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated matched that of the
22-year-old accused in the killing, FBI Director Kash Patel said on
Monday.
Investigators also have used DNA evidence to link the suspect, Tyler
Robinson, with a screwdriver recovered from the rooftop where the fatal
shot was fired, Patel said Monday on the Fox News show “Fox & Friends.”
Authorities in Utah are preparing to file capital murder charges against
Robinson as early as Tuesday in the killing of Kirk, a dominant figure
in conservative politics who became a confidant of President Donald
Trump after founding Arizona-based Turning Point USA, one of the
nation's largest political organizations.
Kirk, who brought young, conservative evangelical Christians into
politics, was shot Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University
during one of his many campus stops. The shooting raised fears about
increasing political violence in a deeply polarized United States.
Officials have said Robinson carried a hatred for Kirk and ascribed to a
“leftist ideology” that had grown in recent years. Robinson’s family and
friends said he spent large amounts of time scrolling the "dark corners
of the internet,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Sunday.
Patel told Fox that Robinson had written in a note before the shooting
that he had an opportunity to take out Kirk and was going to do it.
Investigators were able to recover the note's contents after it had been
destroyed, the FBI director said, paraphrasing from the note without
revealing more details.
Over the weekend, Cox said Robinson’s romantic partner was transgender,
but authorities did not know yet whether the suspect targeted Kirk for
his anti-transgender views.
Utah's department of public safety chief said Monday that Robinson’s
partner has been cooperative.
“There was a romantic, personal relationship there. We are still
investigating whether that individual had any involvement,” commissioner
Beau Mason told The Associated Press.
"We believe that Tyler Robinson acted by himself during this shooting,”
said Mason, who added that investigators are looking at whether anyone
else knew of his plans beforehand.
Authorities said Robinson has not been cooperating with law enforcement
since being jailed for suspicion of aggravated murder. They say that he
may have been “radicalized” online and that ammunition found in the gun
used to kill Kirk included anti-fascist and meme-culture engravings.
Court records show that one bullet casing had the message, “Hey,
fascist! Catch!”
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This photo released by the Utah Governor's Office on Friday, Sept.
12, 2025 shows Tyler Robinson. (Utah Governor's Office via AP)
Robinson was arrested late Thursday near where he grew up around St.
George, in the southwestern corner of Utah between Las Vegas and
Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. It's unclear whether he has an
attorney who could speak on his behalf, and his family has declined
to comment to the AP.
Authorities also revealed Monday that a man arrested in the
aftermath of the shooting was taken into custody because he yelled,
“I shot him, now shoot me.” A probable cause statement said George
Zinn later admitted that he only said that “so the real suspect
could get away.” A voicemail message left after hours at the office
of an attorney who represented Zinn for another case earlier this
year was not immediately returned.
Since the shooting, security experts have questioned the level of
security at the event, including the number of officers and the
decision to hold it outside. Kirk was known to prefer being as close
to students as possible during his tour on college campuses,
allowing him to strike up conversations with passersby. And with
each stop, his level of protection varied greatly.
Tributes to Kirk continued across the country. A line of mourners
wrapped around the Kennedy Center in Washington for a vigil Sunday,
and there were moments of silence at several professional sporting
events.
On Monday, a massive American flag was hung from a walkway just
above where Kirk sat before the shooting. Near a flower- and
flag-adorned memorial for Kirk close to a university entrance,
people had scrawled messages in chalk across the sidewalks — largely
bible versus and exhortations to love intermingled with more severe
messages. “Bullets can’t stop the truth,” exclaimed one.
Vice President JD Vance, who counted Kirk as a close friend, served
as a substitute host Monday on “The Charlie Kirk Show” on Rumble, a
streaming platform.
Vance spoke about how Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, told him her husband
never raised his voice to her and was never “cross or mean-spirited
to her.”
“I took from that moment that I needed to be a better husband and I
needed to be a better father,” the vice president said. “That is the
way I’m going to honor my friend.”
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Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio.
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