Charlie Kirk shooting suspect identified as Tyler Robinson

The suspect in the murder of Charlie Kirk is in custody. 

State and federal officials made the announcement at a press conference Friday morning. President Donald Trump confirmed the news in an interview on "Fox and Friends" before the press conference began. 

Who is the suspect? 

What we know:

At a press conference Friday morning, authorities identified the suspect as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson from Utah. They said he acted alone. 

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Thursday evening, a family member of Robinson's reached out to a family friend, who contacted law enforcement and reported Robinson had "confessed to them or implied" that he was the shooter. Robinson's roommate also spoke with investigators and showed them messages from Robinson on Discord. Those messages discussed a rifle wrapped in a towel, a unique scope on the rifle and engravings on the bullets. 

RELATED: Charlie Kirk shooting: New video shows alleged gunman fleeing scene

On "Fox and Friends," Trump said the suspect’s father may have played a role, but authorities at the press conference didn't specify which family member aided in his arrest. 

A family member told investigators Robinson had become more political in recent years, and Robinson had mentioned that Kirk was coming to UVU. The family member said Robinson voiced his dislike of Kirk, saying Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate. The same family member said Robinson drove a gray Dodge Challenger. Investigators say Robinson arrived on campus in a gray Dodge Challenger. 

Messages on bullet casings

In a wooded area near campus, investigators found a bolt-action rifle wrapped in a towel, Cox said. The rifle had a scope mounted on top. Messages on a fired bullet casing said, "Notices, bulges, OwO what's this?"

Inscriptions were also found on three unfired casings. The first one read, "Hey fascist! Catch!" with an up arrow, a right arrow and three down arrows. The second one said, "Oh Bella, ciao, bella, ciao Bella ciao ciao ciao." The third one read, "If you read this, you are gay LMAO"

What do the messages mean? 

Dig deeper:

"Notices, bulges, OwO what's this?" – This is a Gen Z phrase used in the "furry community." The OwO is meant to mimic a wide-eyed face emoji. 

 "Hey fascist! Catch!" – This appears to be a reference to the Helldivers 2 video game. The arrows are the sequence of controller moves that allows the player to drop bombs. 

"Oh Bella, ciao, bella, ciao Bella ciao ciao ciao." – "Bella Ciao" is an Italian folk song and anti-fascist resistance anthem. AI edits of Trump singing it have been widely shared on social media. 

"If you read this, you are gay LMAO" – Conspiracy videos accusing Trump and his allies of being secretly gay have also been shared on TikTok. 

What happened to Charlie Kirk? 

The backstory:

Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist and friend of Trump’s, was speaking to a crowd of about 3,000 people at Utah Valley University Wednesday afternoon when a shooter fired a single shot from a building about 140 yards away. Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was on the first stop of his American Comeback tour. 

Graphic video shared on social media showed the moment Kirk was struck by the bullet and killed.

Kirk's body was flown back to his home state of Arizona on Air Force Two. Trump said he believes Kirk's funeral will be held next weekend. The president said he'll attend. 

Investigation timeline

Timeline:

FBI Director Kash Patel said the first FBI agents arrived on the scene at Utah Valley University some 16 minutes after Kirk was shot. 

The bureau released the first photos of the suspect on Thursday morning, followed by the announcement of a cash reward and then the release of video of the suspect climbing down from the roof of a campus building and running away.

"Just last night, the suspect was taken into custody at 10 p.m. local time," Patel announced.