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ST. GEORGE, Utah —Thirty-three hours after Charlie Kirk was gunned down at Utah Valley University, the suspect’s parents walked with him into a sheriff’s office.
The dramatic manhunt, marked by rooftop clues and a rifle inscribed with meme-like taunts, unfolded with investigators racing to track a gunman in real time.
“Tyler knew it was just inevitable with all the law enforcement pressure,” Washington County Sheriff Nate Brooksby said after the surrender in a news conference. “He knew it was inevitable that he would be caught.”
Here is a detailed look at what prosecutors describe as the 33 hours between the shot that killed Kirk and the moment his accused assassin, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, surrendered to authorities:
TIMELINE:
SEPT. 10 MORNING
8:29 a.m. – Robinson, later identified as Kirk’s alleged killer, arrived in Orem in a gray Dodge Challenger, according to charging documents. He initially wore light-colored shorts, a black hat with a white logo and light-colored shoes. Before the attack, he allegedly changed into jeans and a black long-sleeve shirt.
Speaking with Fox News’ Garrett Tenney, Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said Robinson walked through parts of the Utah Valley University (UVU) campus that morning, potentially scouting the area.
WATCH:
11:50 to 11:53 a.m. – Surveillance video captured a man identified as Robinson walking onto the UVU campus from the north side. The figure entered the school grounds through a tunnel under Campus Drive, checking his cellphone before descending underground, according to a probable cause affidavit attached to Robinson’s arrest warrant.
SEPT. 10 AFTERNOON
12:02 p.m. – The affidavit states that Robinson was recorded on camera at the north side of UVU’s Losee Center building, walking with “a distinctive gait” — believed to be due to a rifle concealed in his jeans.
12:15 – 12:23 p.m. – Surveillance video showed an individual dressed in dark clothing climbing a staircase that authorities said leads to a common area next to the Losee Center, according to the charging document. The figure climbed over a wall, crouched on top of the roof and waited for a few minutes before “running across the rooftop.” The limp seen in prior surveillance video was no longer visible, according to the warrant. Then he crouched into “a prone shooting position” with a direct line of sight to where Kirk was speaking.
12:23 p.m. – As Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two, fielded a question during a Turning Point USA event at UVU, a single gunshot rang out. The bullet tore through his neck, in front of thousands of people, including children. Panic erupted in the plaza as spectators sprinted from the outdoor campus center. Joey Gallegos, a UVU student who was at the event, told Fox News Digital that people were “tripping over each other and trying to jump over the barricade” in the immediate aftermath of the single gunshot.
Authorities initially said they had taken someone into custody immediately. But it wasn’t the gunman. That man, later identified as George Zinn, allegedly told police that he “yelled that he was the shooter to allow the actual suspect to flee,” according to court documents. He has been charged with obstruction of justice — and also possession of “child sex abuse material” after investigators searched his phone.
SEPT. 10 AFTERNOON
Shortly after the shooting – Surveillance video captured a man matching Robinson’s description fleeing the rooftop and carrying what appeared to be a rifle.
He was then seen climbing down, dropping the weapon briefly before picking it up and running toward the northeast end of campus, charging documents state.
WATCH:
SEPT. 10: AFTERNOON
After the shooting, Mason told Fox News’ Tenney that state investigators believe Robinson lingered in the area in an effort to retrieve his rifle, which he’d allegedly stashed in the woods, despite the heavy police presence.
“We’re using technology to try to track his movements,” he recalled. “And so we’re really trying to retrace all of his steps of not only was he hanging around, where did he go? And did he have any interactions in that time?”
Investigators traced his path into a wooded area just beyond campus, where they discovered a .30-06 bolt-action Mauser rifle wrapped in a towel.
Inside were four rounds of ammo: one spent and three live, each bearing inscriptions such as “O Bella ciao” and “If you Read This, You Are GAY Lmao,” according to charging documents.
With no suspect in custody, law enforcement released grainy surveillance images to the public as the manhunt intensifies.
2:40 p.m. – President Donald Trump announces on Truth Social that Kirk has died.
4:21 p.m. – FBI Director Kash Patel announces on X that the “subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody.” This was a second mix-up, however, and Patel issued an update saying this person had been questioned and released.
WATCH:
SEPT. 10: EVENING
Messages to his roommate – While law enforcement searched the area, Robinson texted his roommate, Lance Twiggs, from Orem, telling him to “look under my keyboard,” according to court documents.
The roommate found and photographed a note there that read, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I’m going to take it.” Authorities say Twiggs has cooperated with investigators.
In another message, Robinson allegedly wrote he was “stuck in Orem for a little while longer yet” and would not be back home in St. George until later. He appeared to admit responsibility for the shooting, writing: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
“You weren’t the one who did it right????” the roommate texted back.
“I am, I’m sorry,” Robinson allegedly replied.
“I thought they caught the person?”
“No, they grabbed some crazy old dude, then interrogated someone in similar clothing.”
LEGAL ANALYST CALLS FOR MORE ARRESTS IN CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION
SEPT. 11: MORNING
9:58 a.m. – The FBI released the first set of photos of the suspect.
10:44 a.m. – The FBI announced a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the suspect.
Robinson’s mother recognizes her son – Robinson’s mother saw images of the suspect on television and thought the shooter looked like her son, according to court documents. She called him, and Robinson allegedly told her he had been sick at home on both Sept. 10 and 11. Still, she expressed concern to her husband. Robinson’s father agreed the shooter looked like their son, prosecutors wrote.
Robinson’s father also recognized the weapon from news coverage as the same bolt-action rifle his son had inherited from his grandfather, according to court filings. Concerned, he contacted Robinson and asked him to send a photo of the rifle. Robinson allegedly avoided the request and did not respond with a photo.
When his parents confronted him further, Robinson implied he was the shooter, according to court documents. He allegedly told his parents he “couldn’t go to jail” and admitted he just wanted to “end it.” Asked why, he explained that Kirk “spreads too much hate,” according to charging documents.
SEPT. 11: EVENING
8:02 p.m. – Sheriff Brooksby said he received a call from a family friend of Robinson’s who told him the suspect was willing to come in voluntarily. During the call, Brooksby learned Robinson had expressed suicidal thoughts and feared being killed in a law enforcement raid.
8:57 p.m. – At this time, according to reports citing Discord records Robinson’s friends provided to the Washington Post and independent journalist Ken Klippenstein, the friends received a message from his purported account:
“I have bad news for you all,” reads the message, attributed Discord user zealou_monkey_55095. “It was me at UVU yesterday.”
The message hinted that its sender was about to surrender to the local sheriff’s office.
A spokesperson for Discord confirmed to FOX Business that the reporting from the Post detailing Discord messages where Robinson appears to take responsibility for Kirk’s killing is accurate.
WHO IS TYLER ROBINSON? WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT CHARLIE KIRK’S SUSPECTED ASSASSIN
SEPT. 11: EVENING
9 – 10 p.m. – Within the hour, Robinson arrived at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with his parents and family friend. He was greeted by plainclothes detectives to honor the condition of a “peaceful, gentle, comfortable” surrender. Robinson was not handcuffed as he waited for about 2 ½ hours for authorities to arrive from Orem.
Brooksby gave him water and later described him as “quiet and somber” while he waited in an interview room with his parents until federal and state investigators arrived to take custody, the sheriff said.
SEPT. 12: MORNING
Approx. 2 a.m. – Robinson was transferred north to Utah County to be booked at “maybe about two in the morning,” Brooksby said.
SEPT. 13:
FBI officials told Fox News Digital the suspect’s roommate is also his transgender romantic partner and is cooperating with investigators.
SEPT. 15: MORNING
FBI Director Kash Patel told “Fox and Friends” that he “can report today that the DNA hits from the towel that was wrapped around the firearm and the DNA on the screwdriver are positively processed for the suspect in custody.”
SEPT. 16: MORNING
The Utah County Attorney’s Office filed formal charges against Robinson, including aggravated murder, which carries the potential death penalty as a punishment, felony discharge of a firearm, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and committing violence in the presence of children.
READ THE CHARGING DOCUMENT. MOBILE USERS CLICK HERE
SEPT. 17
Speaking of Robinson’s roommate and lover, Brooksby confirmed that he is in a “safe space very far away from St. George,” the Utah town where the pair lived. He added that law enforcement officials are talking to the roommate’s associates.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the FBI for comment on the timeline.
Mason, the state’s public safety director, told Tenney that although Robinson allegedly admitted or implied his guilt to multiple people after Kirk’s death, investigators did not yet find evidence that anyone knew before the fact.
“We’ve seen the text messages that have been released that show that after the incident happened, people were made aware that it had happened,” he said. “Really important to clarify that, that at this point, none of the evidence we released shows that anybody knew this was going to happen besides Tyler Robinson before this incident occurred.”
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Whether anyone had influenced Robinson beforehand remains under investigation, he added.
Fox News Digital’s Peter D’Abrosca and Adam Sabes contributed to this report.
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