Charlie Kirk shooter, Tyler Robinson was raised Mormon only to repudiate his religious conservative upbringing after becoming increasingly disillusioned and spending more time online.
Charlie Kirk shooter, Tyler Robinson was raised a devout Mormon, with the alleged assassin firing the fatal shot at Kirk just moments after the conservative influencer had glowingly praised the Church of Latter-day Saints while addressing students.
‘I love how Mormons send missionaries around the world, I love how polite they are. … Half my team is Mormon,’ Kirk, 31, said to huge cheers from the crowd at Utah Valley University moments before he was allegedly killed by the 22-year-old trade-school student, Wednesday just on 12.20 p.m.
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Charlie Kirk shooter grew up in devout affluent world, but something went wrong
‘Mormons are great people. Let me just say, I’m an evangelical Christian, but I’m not one of those guys that hates on Mormons,’ Kirk said.
Footage from Kirk’s final event at Utah Valley on Wednesday — posted on Instagram — shows the conservative firebrand bantering with a member of the Mormon faith in the crowd, referencing how he had ‘the white shirt and tie put on right there,’ before going on to speak of his love for the church.
Kirk’s words came just minutes before he was shot and killed — allegedly by Robinson.
Robinson’s shooting has rocked those who know him, as it is revealed the alleged shooter grew up in a ‘devout’ affluent neighborhood, in a sprawling six bedroom two story house.
Stunned neighbours spoke of barbecues, carol singing at Christmas, and a family that never seemed anything other than wholesome. His mother, Amber, works helping disabled people, and his father, Matt, works in construction.
Tyler Robinson threatened to kill self after dad recognised FBI photos
WAKE UP PEOPLE !!!!!#TylerRobinson is not Trans is not a Democrat is from a conservative Republican-leaning household in Utah described as a “White Christian, conservative” who had become increasingly political with disdain for #CharlieKirk quit sowing division stop #GunViolence pic.twitter.com/JW4jhG78Vk
— Mikasa4231 (@mikasa4231) September 12, 2025
Discontent Utah Mormon singles out fellow ‘white’ Christian male
The accused killer ‘went to our church when he was younger,’ neighbor Kristin Schwiermann told the nypost.
‘I just know that [Tyler] carried himself nicely. He was very nice. He was smart. I hear he had a full-ride scholarship [to college]. … I was shocked that this was even him.’
Social media paints the same picture – smiling selfies, family holidays, a proud mum calling her son a “genius” when he won a scholarship to Utah State University. But what they didn’t see was what was festering behind closed doors.
It is an area where basketball hoops stand in driveways and children play without a care in the world. Neighbours who once waved to Robinson are now destined to cross the street.
But something went wrong in Tyler Robinson’s world. What turned the boy-next-door into a killer? And how did the devout religious young man come to target Kirk, himself a devout ‘white’ Christian male?
His scholarship at Utah State University lasted only a semester. Friends say he drifted, withdrawn, spending more time online, less time at church. What groups did he interact with online and how did the young man who grew up in a ‘wholesome conservative’ upbringing come to repudiate his identity, his upbringing, his community?
Reported the UK’s Mirror, upon interviewing a local woman, ‘You never think it’ll be the boy from the nice family down the road. We all thought they were good people.’
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassin being identified as a Mormon.
‘We condemn violence and lawless behavior. We also pray that we may treat one another with greater kindness, compassion and goodness. For members of the Church, we reaffirm the Savior’s teaching and admonition is to love our neighbor,’ spokesman for the Church Doug Andersen said in a statement Wednesday.
Robinson was taken into custody around 11pm on Thursday night, some 260 miles from where Kirk was gunned down. Governor Cox announced the arrest with blunt words: “We got him.” Prosecutors say he will face the death penalty if convicted.
