It was on September 10, 2025, when the reports about Charlie Kirk’s assassination left everyone shocked to the core. The 31-year-old political activist and social media personality was in the middle of a public speaking event in Utah when he was shot dead. While initially one person was taken into custody, it later turned out that 22-year-old Tyler Robinson was the perpetrator. It was Robinson’s own father, Mathew, who turned his son in for assassinating Charlie Kirk. So, let’s have a look at how the investigators have tracked him down, and how he tried to emotionally hold his parents back so they won’t take the step to turn him in.
How was Tyler Robinson caught by the investigators after assassinating Charlie Kirk?
Tyler Robinson was caught nearly 33 hours after assassinating Charlie Kirk. It was on September 12, 2025, when Utah Governor Spencer Cox held a press conference and confirmed that the suspect had been taken into custody. It was Tyler’s father, Mathew, a former sheriff’s department staffer, who first identified his son as the culprit and then turned him in to law enforcement authorities after his confession.
If a report is to be believed, Tyler was a student of Utah University, the very place where Charlie was shot. Well, Tyler was a student on scholarship, but he reportedly attended only one semester back in 2021. According to FBI Director Kash Patel, Tyler Robinson was tracked by investigators through digital traces and the testimony provided by his roommate.
The accused even discussed plans to collect the rifle from a drop point and abandon it in a bush, in messages on Discord, a gaming platform, which were later retrieved and helped investigators track the 22-year-old Tyler. The messages matched the description of the riffle, which carried bizarre inscriptions on the bullet casings, such as ‘Bella Ciao’, ‘Notices, Bulges’, ‘Hey Fascist, Catch’ and ‘if you read this, you are gay, lamo’.
Tyler Robinson threatened to take his life after his father confronted him
According to The New York Post, when the photos of the suspect were released, Tyler Robinson’s father instantly recognised him and confronted him upon his return to their home. Sources have revealed to the outlet that after Robinson’s father confronted him, rather than surrendering to the crime, he threatened to take his own life, which led his parents to make him talk to their youth minister, who is also a US Marshals Service fugitive task force officer. The minister then shared the information with a deputy of the federal agency, and following this, the FBI took the 22-year-old Tyler into custody. The Utah Governor, Cox, extended his thanks to the Tyler family, stating they did the right thing by turning him in.
For the unversed, Charlie was 31 years old, and at the age of 18, he co-founded Turning Point USA (TPUSA), which has since become the most influential conservative student movement in the country. He was a conservative activist and an ally of Donald Trump, as well as a cultural warrior. On September 10, 2025, Charlie was giving a speech at a Utah public speaking event when he was shot dead.
What do you think about Tyler’s parents turning him in?
Also Read: Who Is Tyler Robinson’s Father? Meet Matthew Who Turned In His Son For Charlie Kirk’s Assassination