Ex-classmates of the suspected Charlie Kirk shooter Tyler Robinson have said they always believed he would grow up to be a billionaire CEO.
Robinson, 22, was on Friday arrested on suspicion of assassinating the conservative political activist, 31, at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
The young man was apprehended following a 33-hour manhunt after he was persuaded to turn himself in by his father.
However, peers of the accused shooter have turned to social media to express their insights and memories of the individual, who participated in the auto mechanics club at Pine View High School in St. George, Utah.
As they flicked through their yearbooks, a smiling Robinson can be seen in a checkered shirt on the bottom row alongside a page of other students.
A previous classmate, Jaida Funk, remarks: “I always imagined he’d become a CEO or something similar, or a businessman, maybe even a billionaire by 26, rather than what has happened now.”
The 22-year-old further depicted Robinson as “really well-rounded,” describing him as a “sharp, kind, respectful person, the type who reminds a teacher to assign homework.”
According to the schoolfriend, the passionate mathematician ‘just got along with everyone and everyone liked him’.
Charlie Kirk shooting suspect Tyler Robinson appeared to be a social teenager who was passionate about math in high school, his yearbook revealed
Jaida Funk noted, “I always imagined he’d become a CEO or something similar, or a businessman, maybe even a billionaire by 26, rather than what has happened now.”
Charlie Kirk, 31, was killed by a single bullet at Utah Valley University on Wednesday
‘His family were just a cute, traditional, cookie cutter kind of family – the type of family you’d want to be in,’ she added.
In another TikTok video, posted after Robinson’s arrest, a different classmate shared an alternative recollection, labeling him a “Reddit kid.”
He confessed that although he wasn’t very familiar with the alleged shooter, he spent “three consecutive years” alongside him in high school, which formed the basis for his account.
‘If you were in high school around that same time, and even probably now, 2018 and those types of kids… well that’s exactly what he was.
‘All I’m going to say is this is the type of s*** that happens when you spend way too much time online and all of a sudden your beliefs are all the way this way or all the way that way and you do some dramatic s*** to please these people that are not your friends.
‘This internet s*** is seriously no joke,’ he concluded.
Years before being named as the alleged shooter, Robinson had good grades and was awarded a four-year scholarship to Utah State University, but only attended for one semester before he dropped out to enroll in Dixie Technical College.
At the time of the shooting, he was a third-year student at the college in the electrical apprenticeship program.
Robinson was unmasked as the alleged shooter on Friday following a two-day manhunt, which came to an end after his father recognised him through FBI photos and confronted his son.
In a separate TikTok video following Robinson’s arrest, another classmate had a different recollection of the student and claimed he was a ‘Reddit kid’
Robinson seen in his mugshot
Robinson, 22, named Friday as the alleged killer who shot Charlie Kirk, had a childhood obsession with guns and was seen posing with an M2 Browning 50. calibre machine gun in social media pictures
The alleged assassin reportedly told his father that he would rather kill himself than turn himself in, but was convinced to speak with a local youth minister who also worked with the US Marshals Service.
The family’s social media profiles show Robinson, who has two younger brothers, often enjoying family vacations and sharing smiling selfies, including one of his mother celebrating her ‘genius’ son getting into college.
Other images also show Robinson appearing to use guns frequently in his childhood, regularly visiting shooting ranges and posing with high-caliber weapons.
He lives in a $600,000 six-bedroom home in Washington, Utah – about 260 miles south of Kirk’s assassination site in Orem.
Robinson was taken into custody around 11pm local time in southern Utah on Thursday night.
He faces charges of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury and obstruction of justice, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Authorities said at a press conference on Thursday night that Robinson will face the death penalty if convicted.
At a press conference on Friday morning, Utah governor Spencer Cox began his remarks by declaring: ‘We got him.’
The alleged killer confessed to his father after he was confronted, and initially told him he would rather kill himself than turn himself in
Charlie Kirk shooting suspect Tyler Robinson appeared to be a social teenager who was passionate about math in high school, his yearbook revealed
Investigators spent all day Friday collecting evidence in an apartment that shooting suspect Tyler Robinson shared with a roommate
Cox described Kirk’s assassination as a ‘watershed moment’ in American history, but added: ‘The question is, what kind of watershed?’
He said that investigators learned from Robinson’s family that he had become more political in recent times, and had recently expressed his dislike for Kirk, describing him to his family as ‘full of hate’.
Cox said that casings from the weapon used to kill Kirk were found to have several anti-fascist messages engraved on them, including one referencing the WW2 Italian anti-fascist song Bella Ciao.
One engraving read ‘Hey Fascists, Catch!’ – next to an up arrow symbol, right arrow symbol and three down arrow symbols – another read ‘OwO’, and a third read ‘If You Read This You Are Gay LMAO’, Cox said.
The governor added that Robinson’s roommate helped investigators by showing messages on Discord where the alleged killer talked about retrieving a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush, and references to engraved bullets and a scope.
