Thirty-three hours after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, a young conservative leader killed while speaking to students on Wednesday at Utah Valley University, a 22-year-old Utah man is in custody for his death.

Thursday night, officials reported the Federal Bureau of Investigation had received 7,000 tips, the most since the Boston Marathon bombing. By the time of the Friday-morning press conference announcing the arrest, 11,000 tips had been received.

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen. We got him,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said as he opened a Friday-morning press conference announcing the arrest.

Cox identified Tyler Robinson as the suspect and said the arrest came after a family friend contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with information that “Robinson had confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident.” He was not a student at the university.

That information was relayed to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI investigators, and investigators at Utah Valley University.

“This is what happens when you let good cops be cops,” said Kash Patel, FBI director. “In 33 hours, we have made historic progress for Charlie.”

“The suspect was taken into custody at 10 p.m. local time, in less than 36 hours, 33 to be precise, thanks to the full weight of the federal government, and with the partners here in the state of Utah and Governor Cox. The suspect was apprehended in a historic time period,” Patel added.

Reviewing Additional Video Evidence

Investigators reviewed additional video footage from campus surveillance and identified Robinson arriving on campus in a gray Dodge Challenger at approximately 8:29 a.m., on Sept.10. Cox said he was observed on video in a plain maroon t-shirt, light-colored shorts, a black hat with a white logo, and light-colored shoes.

When encountered in person by investigators in Washington County on Sept. 12, in the early morning hours, Robinson was observed in clothing consistent with those surveillance images, Cox said. The governor later explained that Robinson arrived in one outfit and changed clothing during the incident.

There are three days, under Utah law, allowed for the filing of charging documents. Cox had earlier said the state would pursue the death penalty.

Became More Political in Recent Years

The governor explained that investigators interviewed a family member of Robinson, who stated that Robinson had become more political in recent years.

The family member referenced a recent incident in which Robinson came to dinner prior to Sept. 10, and in the conversation with another family member, Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU.

“They talked about why they didn't like him and the viewpoints that he had. The family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate,” Cox said during Friday’s briefing. “The family member also confirmed Robinson had a gray Dodge Challenger.”

Suspect’s Messages on Discord

Investigators also interviewed Robinson’s roommate, and Cox said the roommate told them Robinson had made a “joke” on Discord. He opened it and showed the investigators several messages, allowing them to take photos of each one.

“These photos consisted of various messages, including content of messages between the phone contact name Tyler, with an emoji icon, and Robinson's roommate's device. The content of these messages included messages affiliated with the contact Tyler, stating a need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush, messages related to visually watching the area where a rifle was left, and a message referring to having left the rifle wrapped in a towel.”

“The messages also refer to engraving bullets and a mention of a scope and the rifle being unique,” Cox continued. “Tyler also mentioned that he had changed outfits.”

Investigators recovered the rifle, a Mauser 98 .30-06 caliber bolt-action rifle with a scope.

Inscriptions on Shell Casings

Cox, noting that there had been public attention around the engravings on the casings, provided the details.

He said the inscription on the spent casing that was still in the rifle read “Notices Bulges OWO What’s This?”

Inscriptions on the unfired casings, Cox said, read:

“Hey fascist! Catch! ↑→↓↓↓”

“Oh bella ciao bella ciao bella chiao ciao ciao”

“If you read this you are gay. LMAO”

Cox: ‘It is an Attack on All of Us’

“I've heard people say, ‘Well, why are we so invested in this? There's violence happening all across our country, and violence is tragic everywhere, and every life taken is a child of God who deserves our love and respect and dignity.’” Cox said near the end of the press conference.

“This is certainly about the tragic death, assassination, political assassination of Charlie Kirk. But it is also much bigger than an attack on an individual. It is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the American experiment. It is an attack on our ideals. This cuts to the very foundation of who we are, of who we have been, and who we could be in better times,” Cox continued.