Tyler Robinson, the suspect accused of allegedly killing Charlie Kirk, casually joked with friends on Discord, claiming that it was his “doppelganger” who carried out the shooting after federal agents released his pictures, while he was still being hunted by authorities, according to a report.
Robinson, 22, mocked the nationwide manhunt for the shooter, poking fun at the FBI’s investigation and even joking about trying to collect the reward money himself, according to messages reviewed by The New York Times. Robinson continued with his taunts before he was arrested by the police after his transgender roommate tipped off the FBI. He has since been identified as the prime suspect in Kirk’s killing.
Weird Mindset
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Robinson’s group chat started buzzing on a social media messaging app on Thursday afternoon after the FBI put out grainy photos of a lanky young man in dark clothes they believed to be Kirk’s shooter, the New York Times reported.
One of Robinson’s online friends quickly pointed out the resemblance and tagged him under the images, jokingly asking “wya” — short for “where you at?” — with a skull emoji.
Robinson, who allegedly shot Turning Point USA founder Kirk in the neck during the Utah attack on Wednesday afternoon, fired back less than a minute later, brushing it off and claiming it was just a look-alike trying to “get me in trouble.”
“Tyler killed Charlie!!!” another user then wrote, the outlet reported.
As the nationwide manhunt intensified, someone in the 20-person group chat joked about cashing in by reporting Robinson to claim the FBI’s $100,000 reward.
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Robinson, using a profile picture of John Arbuckle — Garfield’s perpetually confused owner — snapped back sarcastically, “Only if I get a cut.”
“Whatever you do, don’t go to a mcdonalds anytime soon,” one pal quipped in a nod to where Manhattan CEO killer Luigi Mangion was nabbed, the paper reported.
Too Confident Even Before Arrest
Robinson played along, joking darkly that he should “probably get rid of this manifesto and exact copy rifle I’ve got lying around,” before insisting the real shooter was “CLEARLY” from California.
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He kept mocking the investigation, taking shots at the FBI by bringing up the “trans” notes reportedly scrawled on the ammo and brushing it off as something made up by “some dude in the briefing room.”
Shell casings recovered at Utah Valley University, where Kirk was gunned down, carried chilling messages — one even read, “Hey fascist! catch!” Investigators later traced the bullets back to an imported .30-06-caliber Mauser bolt-action rifle, which they discovered wrapped in a towel and hidden in nearby woods.
Robinson is accused of firing the deadly shot at Kirk, a married father of two little ones, as he sat under a pop-up tent addressing thousands during the kickoff of his “American Comeback Tour.”
According to law enforcement sources, the 22-year-old suspect eventually gave himself up Thursday night in Southwestern Utah — more than three hours from the Orem campus — after his own father confronted him and he spoke with a youth minister about what had happened.
After news broke of his arrest, Robinson’s Discord friends were stunned to learn he was actually the shooter. One pointed out that prosecutors are pushing for the death penalty because of how brutal and public the killing was, the outlet reported.
“I truly cannot distinguish if this is for real,” another said.
