As investigators continue to suss out the motives for the murder of Charlie Kirk, one of their key focuses is the transgender roommate of suspect Tyler Robinson. Investigators believe their relationship was a romantic one, and they are looking into whether Kirk's conservative views on trans issues factored into the shooting, reports Axios, Fox News, and the New York Post. One thing the stories agree upon is that the roommate is fully cooperating with the investigation and appears to have had no inkling about the shooting in advance.
Robinson and the roommate—who is in the process of transitioning to female, per Fox—lived together in southern Utah about four hours from where the shooting took place. The roommate was "aghast" at Kirk's killing and has turned over all of their text messages, according to one of Axios' law enforcement sources. In one, somebody named "Tyler" discusses the need to retrieve a stashed rifle, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said at a news conference on Friday, per NBC News.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, stories surfaced about an ATF bulletin suggesting that recovered ammunition had anti-trans rhetoric, but the bulletin turned out to be inaccurate, reports the Wall Street Journal. The engraved message on one bullet referred to Kirk as a "fascist," but authorities have not mentioned explicit anti-trans rhetoric. In a group text chat seen by the New York Times, Robinson (before his arrest) referenced the initial reports.
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"I heard the ammo had somethin about trans stuff on it, but they aren't releasing photos or exact quotes," he wrote to his friends in the group chat, adding that "the claim wasn't backed by the official fbi, just some dude in the briefing room." (Read more about the group chat.)
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