A year ago, conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot in the neck and killed before a crowd of thousands during a debate event at Utah Valley University.
Kirk, a 31-year-old political provocateur and prominent right-wing figure, was allegedly targeted by Tyler Robinson, then a 22-year-old Utah resident, who prosecutors say used his grandfather’s Mauser Model 98 bolt-action rifle loaded with a .30-06 caliber round.
Video of the assassination spread rapidly across social media, triggering a frantic manhunt. Authorities later released disturbing footage that appeared to show the suspect moving through the Utah Valley University campus, climbing onto a rooftop and firing from above.
Robinson was taken into custody two days after the shooting, and prosecutors have since disclosed a substantial body of evidence they say links him to Kirk’s killing.
That evidence includes alleged confessions, among them statements prosecutors say Robinson made to his transgender roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs, as well as DNA allegedly recovered from the rooftop sniper position and the suspected murder weapon.
Twiggs later testified against Robinson, telling the court that Robinson broke down after the shooting and admitted he “wished he hadn’t done it.”
The testimony proved pivotal, with a judge ruling earlier this month that Robinson must stand trial for murder. Now 23, Robinson has pleaded not guilty to all seven charges filed against him, including aggravated murder creating risk of death to others, a capital charge that carries the possibility of the death penalty.
Robinson is scheduled to return to court on October 23, when Utah District Judge Tony Graf is expected to set a trial date.
On the anniversary of Kirk’s death, here Our News Outlet looks through the evidence from the fateful shooting on September 10, 2025, and the high-profile investigation.
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot in the neck in front of thousands of witnesses while debating at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025
Kirk was allegedly shot by then-22-year-old Utah resident Tyler Robinson
THE CONFESSIONS
Prosecutors allege that Robinson has made a number of direct confessions to shooting Kirk, including in a handwritten note left for Twiggs inside their home in St. George, Utah when he left for the day of Kirk’s shooting.
He allegedly told Twiggs, who went by Luna at the time, in a text to ‘drop what you’re doing and look under my keyboard’, and Twiggs testified that he found a confession note.
The note read, ‘Luna, If you are reading this per my text, then I am so sorry. I left the house this morning on a mission and sent an auto-text. I’m likely dead or facing a lengthy prison sentence’, prosecutors said.
Robinson allegedly wrote that he ‘had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it… I wish we could have lived in a world where this was not necessary.’
Prosecutors say that was not Robinson’s only confession, as he also allegedly admitted to being the shooter in group chats on the messaging platform Discord.
Robinson allegedly told friends in the group chat, ‘It was me. Look at the pictures from the surveillance footage. It was me. I’m serious.’
In another message, he allegedly wrote: ‘Hey guys, I have bad news for you all. it was me at UVU yesterday. I’m sorry for all of this. I’m surrendering through a sheriff friend in a few moments.’
Prosecutors presented text messages allegedly sent between Robinson and Twiggs after Kirk was killed
In texts presented in court, Robinson allegedly discussed trying to get rid of the rifle used to shoot Kirk
Robinson allegedly then discussed trying to get rid of the rifle used to shoot Kirk, writing: ‘If I am able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence’
Text messages Robinson allegedly sent Twiggs in the aftermath of the shooting have also been put forward by prosecutors, including alleged confessions while police were actively searching for him near the UVU campus.
When Twiggs said he found the handwritten confession, he texted Robinson, ‘What? You’re joking right?… You weren’t the one who did it right?’, court filings showed.
Robinson allegedly replied, ‘I am, I’m sorry.’
Robinson’s message continued, ‘I had planned to grab my rifle from my drop point shortly after, but most of that side of town got locked down.
‘It’s quiet, almost enough to get but, there’s one vehicle lingering.’
Robinson allegedly then discussed trying to get rid of the rifle used to shoot Kirk, writing: ‘If I am able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence.
‘Going to attempt to retrieve it again, hopefully they have moved on. I haven’t seen anything in the news about them finding it. Will update you by midnight.’
Twiggs then asked Robinson how long he had been planning the shooting, to which he replied: ‘A bit over a week, I believe.’
Prosecutors say Robinson also confessed to the shooting to his parents, telling his father he would ‘rather kill myself than turn myself in’. Twiggs testified that Robinson tearfully admitted to the shooting in the hours after Kirk was killed.
ROBINSON’S TRANSGENDER LOVER’S TESTIMONY
In July at Robinson’s pre-trial hearings, prosecutors presented bombshell footage of Twiggs giving testimony to police about the suspect.
In the police interview, given in April 2026, Twiggs said he first met Robinson in person in 2023 when they moved in as roommates, and they began dating roughly two months later.
He recalled on the morning Kirk was assassinated, Robinson left early in the morning and claimed he had to work a long shift.
Twiggs said he didn’t hear from Robinson again until 11pm that night, when Robinson told him to look under his keyboard to find the handwritten note about his ‘opportunity’ to kill Kirk.
Twiggs recalled Robinson returning to their home by the next morning, and said Robinson was pacing around the home while avoiding questions as he tried to grill him about Kirk’s assassination.
Tyler Robinson’s roommate and trans lover Lance Twiggs is seen in his police interview. It was played at Robinson’s preliminary hearing in July
Twiggs claimed Robinson eventually admitted to the assassination, began crying and told Twiggs ‘he wishes he hadn’t done it.’
Authorities said Twiggs quickly cooperated with investigators and offered his DNA for testing, which was allegedly found alongside Robinson’s DNA on a towel wrapped around the rifle.
Twiggs, who has not been charged with any crime connected to Kirk’s death, also provided messages Robinson had texted following Kirk’s assassination.
THE SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE
At Robinson’s pre-trial hearings in July, prosecutors presented new surveillance footage which allegedly showed Robinson prowling the UVU campus in a Dodge Challenger on the day of the shooting.
After exiting the Dodge Challenger, the suspect was said to have been walking with an apparent limp – keeping his right leg straight as he climbed stairs on the way to a ‘sniper’s perch’ on a nearby rooftop.
Footage presented by prosecutors also showed a figure running across the rooftop, crouching down for some time, before sprinting away moments after Kirk was killed.
In the 48 hour manhunt, authorities released images of the suspected gunman, seen wearing a dark graphic T-shirt, dark hat and jeans from the UVU campus.
According to prosecutors, the father texted Robinson at that moment and said, ‘Tyler, is this you? This looks like you.’
When Robinson was taken into custody, authorities said his construction worker father Matt convinced his son to surrender to investigators after recognizing him in surveillance images (above) from the day Kirk was killed
Previously released footage allegedly showed Robinson stalking the UVU campus before the shooting
Authorities previously released surveillance showing the suspect climbing onto the roof of the Losee Center building before opening fire and sprinting away
EVIDENCE FROM THE SCENE
In the footage allegedly showing Robinson on campus on the day of Kirk’s assassination, the suspect was seen walking with a limp as he made his way to the rooftop.
Prosecutors allege that this limp was because Robinson stuffed his grandfather’s Mauser Model 98 rifle down his pants leg in order to smuggle it on campus.
Following the shooting, authorities say they found the rifle in a wooded area near where Kirk was shot and, according to police, a towel wrapped around the weapon tested positive for Robinson’s DNA.
Investigators have also claimed to have found bullet casings engraved with political messages in the gun.
One read: ‘Hey fascist! Catch!’, and another referenced a transgender furry meme, ‘notices bulge OwO.’
Another referenced the Italian anti-Fascist song ‘Bella Ciao’, and another read: ‘If you are reading this, you are gay.’
Investigators found a rifle wrapped in a dark towel in a wooded area close to the shooting scene, which prosecutors say contained DNA from Robinson and his roommate, Lance Twiggs
Investigators claimed to have found bullets engraved with political messages in the gun Robinson allegedly used (above), including one reading, ‘Hey fascist! CATCH!
One of the bullets referenced a transgender furry meme, ‘notices bulge OwO’
The side of a bullet that read, ‘Hey Fascist! CATCH!’
Another of the bullets read, ‘If you are reading this, you are gay’
Robinson pleaded not guilty to shooting Kirk when a judge formally moved his case forward to trial earlier this month.
The 23-year-old pleaded not guilty to all seven charges brought against him, including a charge of aggravated murder creating risk of death to others, which carries the death penalty.
Utah District Judge Tony Graf rejected Robinson’s attorneys’ request to remove that charge, saying he approved the count based on the positions of nearby witnesses close to where Kirk was killed.
Robinson is next due in court on October 23, where Graf is expected to set a trial date.
