Charlie Kirk shooter: Intelligent, inscriptions suggest online radicalization

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(The Center Square) – Social media posts suggest Tyler Robinson, the suspect who authorities say shot Charlie Kirk, was a high achiever before attending college at Utah State University for one semester, then enrolling in technical school for an electrical apprenticeship.

Messages the 22-year-old Robinson scrawled into his bullets that included references to furry sexual culture and anti-fascism suggests he was radicalized online.

In a since-deleted Facebook post from Robinson’s senior year of high school, Robinson’s mother shared her excitement at Robinson’s prospects from his 4.0 GPA to his 99th percentile score on the ACT. 

In a statement, the Utah Board of Higher Education confirmed that Robinson was concurrently enrolled in high school and Utah Tech University, further suggesting Robinson was a high-achieving student. 

UBHE also stated Robinson attended Utah State University for one semester in 2021 and is currently a third-year electrical apprenticeship program student at Dixie Technical College, a trade school. 

“Our campuses foster exploration, learning and the respectful exchange of diverse viewpoints,” wrote UBHE. “Attempts to silence or intimidate those voices have no place here.” 

Utah Valley University, where Kirk was assassinated, was also part of the state college system. Utah Valley University’s firearms policy does not allow students to bring firearms on campus unless the student is a concealed carry permit holder.

In a Friday press conference, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox shared that a Mauser bolt-action rifle of 19th century design allegedly belonging to Robinson was found near the scene of the shooting, along with a fired bullet casing and three unfired bullets all engraved with messages consistent with online radicalization. 

The fired casing was scrawled with the phrase, “​​notices, bulges, OWO, what's this,” while one unfired casing was inscribed with “Hey fascist! Catch!” along with an up arrow, right arrow, and three down arrows, another with “Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao,” and another with “If you read this you are gay LMAO.” 

According to internet meme database Know Your Meme, “​​notices, bulges, OWO, what's this,” the phrase is associated with the furry online community, and in part originated on Deviant Art, a platform for sharing user-created and often explicit art and images. “Furries” often create “fursonas,” dressing and wearing “fursuits,” sometimes in a sexual manner, and sometimes identify as animals. The "bulge" refers to a bulge in one’s pants, while “OWO” represents an excited face, with the two “O” letters serving as eyes, and the “W” as a mouth.

The arrows on the “Hey fascist! Catch!” are a command in the game Helldivers 2 to call a 500 kilogram bomb on a target. In Helldivers 2, soldiers fight threats against humanity and protect democracy. On Reddit, one user uploaded an image of a soldier flexing, with the arrows in a speech bubble. When one user asked, “What does it mean?”, another user responded, “a delicious 500kg bomb delivered promptly for maximum democracy.” 

“Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao,” appears similar to the Italian song associated with anti-fascist resistance fighters engaged against the Mussolini regime, also titled “Bella Ciao.” The original version of “Bella Ciao” was sung as a workers’ protest song against the conditions in the rice paddies of Northern Italy. The song became popular after World War II with left-wing political organizations and has become an internationally recognized protest song against right-wing populist parties across the world. It is used in protests everywhere from Brazil to Italy, Hungary, and Germany. 

In the same news conference, Cox also revealed that Robinson had spoken to a family member about Kirk’s visit to UVU. 

“They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints he had,” said Cox. “The family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate.”

Robinson was turned in by a family member after images of the suspected killer were released by law enforcement; Cox said Robinson allegedly confessed to the murder of Charlie Kirk.