Utah Gov. Spencer Cox offered some clarity about markings discovered on ammunition recovered with a rifle that investigators believe was used to kill Charlie Kirk.
Law enforcement sources had told the Wall Street Journal that messages engraved on unspent casings in the .30-caliber hunting rifle indicated the shooter, now identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, expressed support for antifascist and so-called "transgender ideology," but the Republican governor offered new details after the suspect's arrest.
"Investigators discovered a bolt-action rifle wrapped in a dark-colored towel," Cox said. "The rifle was determined to be a Mauser model 98 .30-06 caliber, .30-06 caliber bolt-action rifle. The rifle had a scope mounted on top of it. Investigators noted inscriptions that had been engraved on casings found with the rifle."
Inscriptions on a fired casing read, "Notices bulges, OWO what's this?" and inscriptions on the three unfired casings read, "Hey, fascist! Catch," "If you read this, you are gay, lmao," and "Oh, bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao," while another was inscribed with a series of arrows that appear to be a reference to a maneuver in the video game Helldivers 2.
"We are indebted to law enforcement across the state who has worked seamlessly together," Cox said. "Local law enforcement, state law enforcement and our federal partners with the with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We're grateful for everyone who worked together in such a short amount of time to to find this person and to and to bring justice. I want to thank the public who has been so engaged reviewing, reviewing videos, helping us with sending in tips, and helping us get to this point. I want to thank the the family members of Tyler Robinson who did the right thing in this case and were able to to bring him into to law enforcement, as well."
"I especially want to thank the family of Charlie Kirk, [his wife] Erica, Charlie's parents, his children," the governor added. "I want us to be thinking of them as we bring justice in this case. They will be involved in that justice. We will be working very closely with them as we move through this process as well. This is a very sad day for, again, for our country, a terrible day for the state of Utah."