The suspect arrested in connection with Charlie Kirk’s death was enrolled in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College, according to a statement from the Utah Board of Higher Education.

He was a third-year student in the program, after briefly attending Utah State University for one semester in 2021, and received enrollment credit through Utah Tech University while in high school, from 2019 to 2021, the statement said.

Dixie Technical College is one of 16 schools governed by the Utah Board of Higher Education.

“Our campuses foster exploration, learning and the respectful exchange of diverse viewpoints. Attempts to silence or intimidate those voices have no place here,” the statement continued. “We will continue working to ensure our students, faculty and guests can safely express their perspectives.

Utah law enforcement has three business days to file formal charges against the suspect, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said this morning.

The state will work on building more information on probable cause, and the county attorney “will be working very closely with Mr. Kirk’s family,” the governor said.

Once these documents are filed, there will be a preliminary court hearing, which is the first time the suspect will go before a judge. The hearing will likely happen “early next week,” Cox said.

The shooting suspect, Tyler Robinson, has been arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a weapon causing serious bodily injury, and obstruction of justice, according to the Associated Press. These are all state felony charges, and aggravated murder carries the possibility of the death penalty.

A judge has ordered that he will be held without bail, multiple outlets have reported.

Utah State University confirmed that the suspect in Wednesday’s shooting was “briefly” enrolled there in 2021.

Kirk’s American Comeback tour was scheduled to hold its “Prove Me Wrong” table event at Utah State on Sept. 30 — the same event that took place at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

Vice President JD Vance said he was grateful to state and federal officials and investigators “for giving this case the time, resources, and hard work it deserved” in an X post Friday morning.

While Vance said the investigation “is still in the early days,” he called the suspect’s arrest “a big breakthrough.”

“We took a big step this morning in getting justice for Charlie, and for his family,” Vance said. “Thanks be to God for that.”

At the beginning of the press conference, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox explained in detail how a family member of the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s killing helped law enforcement nab him:

At that point, Cox said, authorities had surveillance footage showing the suspect’s gray Dodge Challenger arriving on the school’s campus hours before the shooting.

Cox did not reveal the relation of the family member to Robinson nor the identity of the family friend. In an appearance on Fox & Friends earlier Friday, President Trump suggested that the family friend was a minister who was “involved with law enforcement,” and that the suspect’s father “got involved” and said, “We got to go in.”

Noting how fast the graphic video showing Wednesday’s shooting spread across the internet, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called social media “a cancer on our society right now.”

Americans aren’t used to seeing such graphic imagery, Cox said. He encouraged people to “log off, turn off” their devices.

“This is not good for us, it is not good to consume,” Cox said.

In his remarks at the press conference, Cox implored young people to embrace political differences without resorting to violence.

“You are inheriting a country where politics feels like rage. It feels like rage is the only option,” Cox said. “We can choose a different path. Your generation has an opportunity to build a culture that is very different than what we are suffering through right now, not by pretending differences don’t matter, but by embracing those differences.”

“I hear all the time that words are violence,” the governor continued. “Words are not violence. Violence is violence.”

“That’s the problem with political violence, it metastasizes,” he added. “At some point, we have to find an off-ramp, or it’s going to get much, much worse.”

Investigators said they found four bullet casings engraved with messages on them near the bolt-action rifle they uncovered in a wooded area near campus, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said.

The inscription on a fired casing read, “Notices bulges OWO what’s this?” authorities said.

There were three unfired casings. One said, “Hey fascist! Catch!” and was paired with an “up arrow symbol, a right arrow symbol and three down arrow symbols,” Cox said.

Another unfired casing read, according to authorities, “Oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao,” and the third one said, “If you read this you are gay lmao.”

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said the suspect accused of killing Charlie Kirk is believed to have acted alone.

Tyler Robinson was booked into the Utah County jail. No other arrests are expected, Cox said.

Authorities on Friday released the mug shot of the man suspected of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, who they identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said that the suspected shooter’s roommate told investigators that the alleged gunman had “made a joke on Discord,” an instant messaging social platform that was originally created for video game players.

The roommate showed investigators the Discord conversation, Cox said, adding that one of the contacts involved was named “Tyler.”

Cox said the Discord included “messages affiliated with the contact ‘Tyler,’ stating a need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush,” and “messages related to a — to visually watching the area where a rifle was left and a message referring to having left the rifle wrapped up in a towel.”

More messages from the contact named “Tyler” had “referred to engraving bullets and a mention of a scope and the rifle being unique,” and said “he had changed outfits.”

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox condemned what he called Charlie Kirk’s “political assassination,” but said that “it is also much bigger than an attack on an individual.”

“It is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the American experiment. It is an attack on our ideals,” Cox said. “Political violence is different than any other type of violence.”

The governor said that he felt as angry as he’s ever felt following Kirk’s death but sought comfort in the way the conservative activist handled his detractors.

“Young people loved Charlie, and young people hated Charlie,” Cox said. “And Charlie went into those places anyway.”

Cox then read numerous quotes from Kirk.

“He said, ‘Always forgive your enemies — nothing annoys them so much.”

At the press conference, FBI Director Kash Patel said the suspect was taken into custody at 10 p.m. local time on Thursday.

“This is what happens when you let good cops be cops,” Patel said. “In 33 hours, we have made historic progress for Charlie.”

Patel, who had faced public criticism for his initial handling of the investigation, expressed his gratitude to President Trump and the White House for their support.

He said the public had a right to demand “an expeditious” capture.

“The FBI answered that call,” Patel said. “We delivered.”

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said more campus security footage was shared with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, which showed when the suspect arrived at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

The new footage shows Tyler Robinson pulling into the campus in a gray Dodge Challenger at around 8:29 a.m. MT. He’s seen “wearing a plain maroon T-shirt, light-colored shorts, a black hat with a white logo and light colored shoes,” Cox said, which was consistent with what Robinson was wearing when confronted by investigators on Thursday evening.

At a press conference with federal and state law enforcement officials, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox confirmed that the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s killing, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, is in custody.

“We got him,” Cox said at the beginning of his remarks.

A family member of the suspect reached out to law enforcement officials, Cox said. The family member said Robinson had become increasingly political and had mentioned that Kirk was coming to speak at Utah Valley University at a recent family dinner.

The White House issued a statement defending FBI Director Kash Patel after people condemned his public handling of the investigation into Charlie Kirk’s killing.

“Director Patel is working night and day on this case,” a White House official said, according to NBC News. “Anyone who doubts his resolve and dedication — especially when Charlie was such a close friend to him — simply is using this extremely sad moment in disgusting act of political gamesmanship. The focus is justice, and this killer will face the full wrath of the justice system.”

Patel faced some backlash after posting on X that a “subject for the horrific shooting” was taken into custody on Wednesday evening. Less than two hours later, he said the “subject in custody” was released.

The suspect in custody in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk has been identified by multiple news outlets as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson of Utah.

The Associated Press and NBC reported the suspect’s identity, citing unnamed law enforcement officials.

FBI and Utah state officials are scheduled to hold a press conference shortly.

According to the New York Times, he was taken into custody in St. George, Utah, about 260 miles from the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, where Kirk was killed.

When asked about how some lawmakers are canceling their public appearances in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing, President Trump said on Fox & Friends, “You have to go forward.”

Several public officials have postponed events or changed their plans in the aftermath of the shooting on Wednesday.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez postponed two North Carolina events this weekend, citing respect for Kirk and security concerns. California Gov. Gavin Newsom rescheduled an event that was planned for Thursday, and Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego canceled his town hall event in Las Vegas “out of an abundance of caution for town hall participants, attendees, and members of the media.”

The planned press conference with the FBI and Utah law enforcement officials, which was initially scheduled for 9 a.m. ET, has been pushed back to 9:30 a.m. ET

On the Fox & Friends couch, President Trump said that a minister “involved in law enforcement” convinced the father of the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s killing to turn him in to police.

“It was a minister … a minister who was involved with law enforcement by the way, his good friend is a top U.S. marshal, and they took it from there,” Trump said. “And then it was, a father got involved, namely his father, and said, ‘We got to go in.’ And they, as I understand it — and again subject to change, but you know, the facts are the facts — we have the person that we think is the person we’re looking for. But they drove him to the police headquarters. He’s there now.”

State and federal officials are expected to hold a press conference on the investigation into Charlie Kirk’s shooting death at 9 a.m. ET.

FBI Director Kash Patel, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls and Utah Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason are expected to be in attendance.

In a live appearance on Fox & Friends in New York City on Friday morning, President Trump said he believes that the shooting suspect in the death of Charlie Kirk has been caught.

“I think with a high degree of certainty we have him,” Trump said. “I think we’re in great shape, and he’s in custody.”

The FBI has not yet made such an announcement.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox warned Americans late Thursday night of Russian and Chinese bots spreading online disinformation about Charlie Kirk’s shooting death in an attempt to “encourage violence.”

“There is a tremendous amount of disinformation,” Cox said. “Our adversaries want violence. We have bots from Russia, China, all over the world that are trying to instill disinformation and encourage violence. I would encourage you to ignore those.”

Citing Kirk’s example, Cox urged listeners to “put our phones down and spend a little time with our families” instead.

“We desperately need some healing,” he added.

Appearing with FBI Director Kash Patel, who flew to Utah Thursday to help oversee the bureau’s investigation, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said late Thursday that authorities had received roughly 7,000 “tips and leads” related to the shooting death of Charlie Kirk — more “digital media tips,” Cox added, than the FBI has fielded at any point since the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.

More than 20 law enforcement agencies and departments are collaborating on the investigation, the governor said; about 200 interviews have been conducted.

But with the suspect still at large, Cox pleaded with the public for additional information. “We need as much help as we can possibly get,” he said.

Neither Cox nor any of the officials arrayed behind him answered questions from reporters. Patel did not speak.

At a news conference late Thursday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Utah Department of Public Safety Beau Mason shared a new video of the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting fleeing the scene of the crime.

The security-camera footage shows the shooter running across the roof of the Losee Center building on the Utah Valley University campus — about 150 yards away from the site where his bullet struck Kirk — before hanging off the edge and dropping to the grass below. He then walks towards a road and makes for the nearby woods where officials later recovered a high-powered bolt-action rifle.

Mason went on to describe the suspect’s attire, as shown in CCTV images released earlier Thursday: a black shirt with an American flag and bald eagle design; a baseball cap with a triangle on the front; a dark backpack; Converse sneakers.

“All distinctive, all things that would ask the public to look for and try to identify if they know someone who has those items,” said Mason.

The Utah Department of Public Safety shared additional images of the person of interest who is being sought in connection with Kirk’s killing. The new images show a person wearing the same outfit as in earlier photos, but depict him from side and rear angles that had not been previously available.

President Trump traveled to Yankee Stadium in New York City on Thursday evening to mark the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The Yankees advised fans to be prepared for “enhanced security measures” ahead of the game.

The president visited the Yankees locker room to meet the players before heading to a luxury box for the first pitch. Videos shared by fans in attendance show Trump waving to the crowd and joining in with a chant of “USA, USA, USA.”

“I have been disgusted to see some on social media praising, rationalizing, or making light of the event,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote in a post on social media Thursday.

Landau, a close colleague of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said he had instructed U.S. consulates to “undertake appropriate action” against any visitors to the U.S. who “glorify violence and hatred.”

Several social media users responded to his post with examples allegedly showing non-Americans making jokes about the shooting. Landau replied to several of these messages with an image of the State Department seal captioned “El Quitavisas,” a Spanish term that which roughly translates to “the Visa Remover.”

The Utah Department of Public Safety announced Thursday that police arrested a man on the campus of Utah Valley University for trying to take photos of the crime scene where Charlie Kirk was shot and killed the previous day.

“At approximately 1100 hours today, a male entered the UVU school grounds and approached the shooting scene,” DPS reported. “Ignoring police crime scene tape, he entered the secured area and began taking photos of the scene and Law Enforcement Officers. When an agent ordered him to stop and attempted to identify him, the male fled on foot but was soon apprehended by other officers.”

The man was subsequently booked into the Utah County Jail for felony obstruction and trespassing.

More than 24 hours after the shooting, authorities still do not have a suspect in custody, the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a news release Thursday afternoon.

“Multiple leads are currently being investigated,” the department wrote.

The department also clarified that photos of a potential suspect released to the public were pulled from campus security footage shortly before the shooting.

A tip line has been set up where the public can provide any information they might have about the suspect. “No tip is too small,” the release said.

Speaking to reporters as he left the White House for New York, Trump again blamed the “radical left” for Kirk’s death, while also trying to steer Americans away from violent retaliation, saying Kirk himself “was an advocate of nonviolence.”

“That’s the way I’d like to see people respond” to his killing, Trump said.

Asked whether he was concerned about his own security following yesterday’s assassination, Trump said, “not really.”

President Trump told reporters Thursday that he had spoken at length to Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk.

“She’s devastated,” he said. “She’s absolutely devastated, as you can imagine.”

Trump did not elaborate on their conversation.

The university issued an alert on Thursday afternoon reminding the public that the investigation into the shooting is ongoing and any personal items that may have been left behind by members of the crowd in their rush to leave the scene “are not available to be picked up at this time.”

The school added that those who left what it called “essential possessions” behind on other parts of the campus can retrieve them at a designated location, but only after they contact the university’s facilities team to arrange pickup. “Please do not come to campus if you have not spoken with UVU Facilities,” the school wrote.

As he left the White House en route to tonight’s New York Yankees-Detroit Tigers game in the Bronx, President Trump told reporters that he plans to attend Charlie Kirk’s funeral, which he expects to take place next weekend in Arizona.

“They’ve asked me to go, and I think I have an obligation to be there,” Trump said.

The president also expressed confidence in the law enforcement officials searching for Kirk’s killer, insisting that they’re “making great strides.”

“They’re very talented people,” Trump said. “Let’s see what happens. We hope they can do it soon.”

The New York Times reported Thursday afternoon that FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino, are traveling to Utah to “more directly oversee the manhunt,” citing two people familiar with their plans.

CNN reported around the same time that “additional security measures” will be in place at Yankee Stadium for Trump’s visit, including screening at all entrances and stepped-up protection around the president’s box.

After originally planning to stay overnight at Trump Tower in Manhattan, the president will reportedly stay instead at his Bedminster, N.J., golf club, which is considered “an extremely secure facility,” according to CNN.

The manhunt for Charlie Kirk’s shooter is still underway, but investigators have gathered several pieces of evidence from the shooting at Utah Valley University yesterday.

• The FBI released photos of a “person of interest” and offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the shooter.
• Officials described the suspected shooter as a male who “appears to be of college age” and “blended in well” with students, according to campus security footage.
• Authorities were able to track the suspected shooter’s movements using campus security footage, Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said Thursday morning. The suspected gunman arrived near the campus before noon and went up to a building’s roof, which was the “shooting location.” After the shooting, authorities said the gunman “moved to the other side of the building, jumped off the building” and ran off the campus into a nearby neighborhood.
• A high-powered bolt-action rifle was recovered in a “wooded area where the shooter had fled,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls said. Law enforcement believes this was the shooter’s weapon.
• Investigators also uncovered a footwear impression, a palm print and forearm imprints, all of which are being analyzed by the FBI.

Vice President JD Vance has just landed at Salt Lake City International Airport and will taxi to the adjacent Roland Wright Air National Guard base, where a hearse recently arrived by police escort.

Multiple news outlets are reporting that Vance is planning to transport Charlie Kirk’s casket on the vice presidential plane from Utah to Arizona, where Kirk lived with his family and where his Turning Point USA organization is headquartered.

CBS News reported earlier Thursday that Vance and second lady Usha Vance will travel with Kirk’s family and some of his friends back to Arizona.

Fox News reported that Air Force Two will “likely” land in Phoenix on “Thursday night.”

Kirk befriended Donald Trump Jr. in recent years and pushed for President Trump to choose Vance as his 2024 running mate.

“When I became the VP nominee — something Charlie advocated for both in public and private — Charlie was there for me … constantly calling and texting, checking on our family and offering guidance and prayers,” Vance wrote in a lengthy online tribute late Wednesday night. “Charlie Kirk was a true friend.”

Former Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords, who was shot in an assassination attempt in 2011 and has since become a gun violence prevention advocate, says she is mourning for Kirk’s family.

“I didn’t agree with almost anything he said, but he had a right to speak,” Giffords wrote in an op-ed published by Time magazine on Thursday. “Just as he had a right to go on a work trip and return safely to his wife and two young children at home in the state we share, Arizona.”

In her essay, Giffords also cited the attempted assassination of President Trump last year and the shooting death of Melissa Hortman, the former speaker of the Minnesota State Legislature, her husband and their dog in June.

“Our stories are unique, but what Charlie Kirk, President Trump, Melissa Hortman and I all have in common is that someone who wanted to kill us had a gun,” Giffords wrote.

“We can and should talk about political violence, and its toxic relationship to political rhetoric,” she added. “We can and must talk about social media’s role in these moments. We all, as individual Americans, need to do a better job considering our words and their impact. But anyone who responds to preventable tragedies like this — tragedies that over time begin to erode the very fabric of our country — by refusing to face the problem of gun violence and crime head-on is missing the point.”

Graphic footage of Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting still continues to circulate on social platforms. In response, a TikTok spokesperson told the New York Times Thursday that the platform is “committed to proactively enforcing our community guidelines,” which involves bans on gory and disturbing content.

TikTok has set up “additional safeguards to prevent people from unexpectedly viewing footage that violates our rules,” the spokesperson said.

Florida Rep. Anna Luna publicly called on X owner Elon Musk, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and TikTok to “remove the horrifying videos” of Kirk.

“At some point, social media begins to desensitize humanity,” Luna wrote. “We must still value life. Please take them down.”