Utah County prosecutor Jeffrey Gray has released key details about the case involving 22-year-old suspect Tyler Robinson.
‘Sniper Positions’: When a single gunshot was fired during an outdoor event on September 10, a Utah Valley University police officer recognized the sound as that of a rifle. He immediately began searching for “potential sniper positions.” Approximately 160 yards (150 meters) away, the officer spotted a roof area that could have been a “shooting position.” On the roof, he found “impressions in the gravel” consistent with a person lying in a “prone shooting position.” Security camera footage confirmed that a person in dark clothing was on the roof at about 12:15 pm local time. This discovery launched a 33-hour manhunt.
Gray said the suspect had entered campus at 11:51 am local time, wearing a black shirt with a US flag, a dark baseball cap, and large sunglasses. While his appearance provided few clues, his posture seemed to suggest he was concealing something. “The suspect keeps his head down. He is seen walking with an unusual gait, with very little bending in his right leg, consistent with a rifle being hidden in his pants,” Gray explained.
Security cameras also captured the suspect leaving the roof immediately after the shot and fleeing campus on foot. A rifle with a scope was later found wrapped in a towel in a nearby wooded area. According to Gray, “The rifle contained one spent round and three unspent rounds.” The unspent rounds had mysterious engravings: “hey fascist catch” with arrow symbols believed to be a video game cheat code, the anti-fascist song “oh, Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Bella ciao, ciao, ciao,” and the phrase “if you read this, you are gay, lmao.” Authorities confirmed that Robinson’s DNA was found on the gun’s trigger, the shell casing, two of the cartridges, and the towel.
A Parent Knows: The next day, Tyler Robinson’s mother saw the footage of the shooter on the news and thought he looked like her son. When she called him, however, he claimed he was at home sick, just as he had been the previous day. Robinson’s father also recognized the rifle police suspected was used in the shooting, as it was a gift he had given to his son.
Robinson’s mother told investigators that her son had recently “become more political and had started to lean more to the left” to support gay and trans rights. She said that Robinson began dating his roommate, “a biological male who was transitioning genders.” This led to several arguments with family members, particularly with his father, who held “very different political views.” Gray said that Robinson had described his father as becoming “hardcore MAGA” since Trump returned to the White House, referring to the “Make America Great Again” movement.
