“Hey fascist! Catch!” was one of the messages that a man engraved on the casings in the rifle he used to allegedly fatally shoot Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Friday.
FBI Director Kash Patel, Utah law enforcement officials, and Cox announced Friday morning that they had taken Tyler Robinson, 22, into custody in connection with Kirk’s shooting at Utah Valley University two days earlier. Officials said they recovered the weapon and found the engravings, which included:
“notices bulges OWO what’s this?”
“oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao.”
“if you read this you are gay lmao.”
While more details about Robinson are being investigated, Cox said some of the messages suggest ideological leanings. The governor on Friday also said Robinson “had become more political in recent years,” per a family member, and had mentioned that Kirk was coming to the Utah university where he was killed.
Robinson was being held in Utah County Jail on suspicion of aggravated murder and other felonies, according to court records. Law enforcement said they believed he acted alone. A specific motive is not yet clear, but right-wing commentators argue the suspect is a liberal and President Donald Trump has blamed the shooting on the left.
The arrest announcement came after a manhunt lasted more than 30 hours and drew in more than 10,000 tips from around the country. Patel and other authorities took heat for twice mistakenly saying they had a suspect in custody.
