Tyler Robinson, 22, is charged with the murder of Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative activist, who was killed by a shotgun on the campus of Utah Valley University.
After the ambush, the young man hid the gun in a bush, along with four bullets on which he had engraved cryptic phrases, a mix of political references, pop culture quotes, and messages related to the online world.
Among the messages found: the lyrics to “Bella Ciao,” which has become popular among young people thanks to social media and video games, an expression used online to mock users, and a provocative phrase in English, followed by a sequence of symbols that, according to video game enthusiasts, recalls an action from the game Helldivers 2. Another bullet read: “If you read this you are gay, LMAO,” a phrase typical of the most irreverent digital humor.
According to family social media profiles, Tyler lived with his parents and two younger siblings in St. George, southern Utah.
The close family shared photos of vacations and happy moments. The boy had received a $32,000 scholarship to Utah State University, but dropped out after the first semester. He was currently enrolled in the third year of a technical high school, where he was training to be an electrician.
Some images portray him, since he was a child, posing with firearms : a custom in many families in the area, where hunting is a common activity.
The grandmother, interviewed by the Daily Mail , said she was “shocked”: she described her grandson as a shy boy, who never spoke about politics, and underlined how his father was a staunch supporter of Trump.
Another relative reported that in recent years the young man had become interested in politics, and that he often clashed with others in the family. "He was full of anger," she said. A photo circulating online shows him in a Halloween costume with a satirical reference to the former US president.
After the murder, it was his father who recognized him in the images released by the FBI. Tyler confessed to the crime, but reportedly told his father that he would rather commit suicide than be captured. It was his father who insisted he speak to a member of the Mormon Church, the family's religious community. It was he who contacted the FBI.
According to official reports, on the day of the attack, the boy arrived alone in a gray Dodge Challenger at 8:29 a.m. He was wearing light-colored shorts and a burgundy T-shirt, but he later changed clothes to try to avoid the cameras.
After shooting, at 12:10 PM, he was filmed fleeing from the roof of the building. In another video, shortly before the attack, he can be seen limping: according to investigators, he may have hidden the rifle in his pants. After the murder, he reportedly sent messages to his roommate via Discord, asking him to retrieve the weapon . For now, authorities have ruled out the young recipient's direct involvement.
(Unioneonline/Fr.Me.)