Live Updates: Charlie Kirk shooting suspect charged with aggravated murder, could face death penalty
September 17, 2025
The statement sparked confusion, since law enforcement on the ground in Utah said no suspect had been apprehended. Patel later issued a follow-up post saying the subject had been released.
Patel stood by the comments on Tuesday, saying that the FBI doesn’t only identify “suspects” but also interviews and eliminates “subjects” in investigations.
“What we had at the time was a subject in custody in relation to this investigation,” Patel said. “So in my commitment to work with the public to help identify subjects and suspects, I put that information out. And then when we interviewed him, I put out the results of that. And could I have been more careful in my verbiage and included ‘a subject’ instead of ‘subject?’ Sure.”
When Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont said Patel’s handling of the situation “was a mistake,” the FBI director disagreed.
“I don’t see it as a mistake,” Patel said. “I see it as something, working with the public to identify that there was a subject in custody.” Â
“Hey guys, I have bad news for you all,” read a message from an account that allegedly belonged to Robinson, according to the spokesperson and a law enforcement source. “It was me at UVU yesterday. im sorry for all of this.”Â
Members of the chat also recognized Robinson in images released by the FBI and asked if he was the shooter, according to the law enforcement source. Robinson did not seem to refute the question. In one exchange, the sources said a friend appeared to tease Robinson by quipping that he should avoid McDonald’s — where accused UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter Luigi Mangione was caught with a manifesto, a gun and a fake ID late last year.
The account appearing to belong to Robinson responded: “Better also get rid of this manifesto and exact copy rifle I have lying around.”
The messages, first reported by the Washington Post, were sent toward the end of the manhunt that ended with Robinson in custody late Thursday, Sept. 11.Â
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