Charlie Kirk’s killing: How suspect confessed after parents’ plea

Court documents and witness accounts reported by CNN on Tuesday have revealed chilling details of how Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old accused of killing American conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, confessed after his parents urged him to surrender.

According to court documents obtained by the network, Robinson was identified by his mother after the FBI released surveillance photos of the suspected shooter.

She told investigators the images looked like her son, and when she confronted him by phone, he insisted he was “home sick.”

But his parents’ suspicions deepened when they recognised a rifle in the investigation as similar to one gifted to him by his grandfather.

Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray, speaking at a press conference, said Robinson’s father pressed him to send a photo of the weapon.

When Robinson refused, he implied he intended to take his own life.

His parents eventually convinced him to return home, where he admitted to the shooting, saying, “There is too much evil, and the guy (Kirk) spreads too much hate.”

Charging papers also revealed Robinson confessed in text messages to his roommate, who was also his romantic partner.

Here’s part of the text message exchange, as outlined in the documents:

Roommate: you weren’t the one who did it right????
Robinson: I am, I’m sorry
Roommate: I thought they caught the person?
Robinson: no, they grabbed some crazy old dude, then interrogated someone in similar clothing. I had planned to grab my rifle from my drop point shortly after, but most of that side of town got locked down.

Gray revealed that on the day of the shooting, Robinson sent his roommate a text instructing him to check under his computer keyboard.

“The roommate looked under the keyboard and found a note that stated, ‘Well I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it,’” Gray said, adding that police later recovered a photograph of the note.

The roommate had responded, “What? You’re joking, right?”

Gray explained that Kirk was answering a question about mass shootings involving transgender individuals when Robinson fired a shot that struck him in the neck.

The bullet narrowly missed several bystanders, including children close to the stage.

Kirk collapsed immediately and was later pronounced dead in the hospital.

Robinson’s mother told investigators that her son had become more political in recent years, leaning left and supporting gay and transgender rights.

She also disclosed that he was dating his roommate, “a biological male who was transitioning genders,” according to the filings.

Gray stated, “On the evening of September 11, 2025, as law enforcement continued their investigation, Tyler James Robinson went to the Washington County sheriff’s office with his parents and a family friend to turn himself in. Robinson’s mother stated the following to police: On September 11, 2025, the day after the shooting, Robinson’s mother saw the photo of the shooter in the news and thought the shooter looked like her son.

“Robinson’s mother called her son and asked him where he was. He said he was at home sick and that he had also been at home sick on September 10. Robinson’s mother expressed concern to her husband that the suspect shooter looked like Robinson. Robinson’s father agreed.”

Describing the killing as “an American tragedy,” Gray said Kirk was murdered while engaging in “the free exchange of ideas, the bedrock of our democratic republic.”

FBI Director Kash Patel told a Senate hearing that investigators are probing more than 20 people who were in an online chat with Robinson.

Robinson has been charged with aggravated murder, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and discharging a firearm in the presence of children. He remains in custody without bail.

Cupped from punch.