A former straight-A student from Utah is accused of shooting and killing conservative influencer Charlie Kirk with a bullet inscribed with a niche online meme.
Those details emerged Friday, Sept. 12, after authorities announced the arrest of Tyler Robinson in Kirk’s slaying.
Robinson, 22, is accused of shooting Kirk in the neck during a public appearance at Utah Valley University, located in the city of Orem, on Sept. 10.
It’s not yet clear what changed in Robinson’s life leading up to the shooting, but family and friends said he had become more political and angry.
One of Robinson’s high school classmates, Xander Luke, said he “was politically active and outspoken about people’s rights.” The accused shooter “thought both political sides were contributing to a country being in a worse place and not improving the world,” Luke said.
The quiet street where Robinson lived with his parents is now the subject of intense scrutiny. Officers from the Washington City Police Department kept media and neighbors on the other side of the streetNeighbors were largely tight-lipped about the family, but many of those who spoke with USA TODAY focused on the family’s faith – they are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are known as Mormons.