After Charlie Kirk Killing, Suspect Joked That His ‘Doppelganger’ Did It
“Tyler killed Charlie!!!!” another user wrote, apparently in jest.
That was on Thursday afternoon, around 1 p.m. local time. It was not until later that night, nearly 34 hours after the shooting, that Mr. Robinson was arrested on suspicion of carrying out the assassination of Mr. Kirk, 31, a conservative pundit whose killing has inflamed the political world.
The Discord messages were the clearest glimpse yet of the suspect’s demeanor in the hours after the killing. They were shared with The New York Times by someone who knew Mr. Robinson in high school and has kept up with him in the group chat — which includes about 20 people — but said he had not seen Mr. Robinson in person for several years. He spoke on the condition that his name not be used, fearing harassment for being an acquaintance of the suspect.
The Times independently verified that the person who shared the screenshots attended high school with Mr. Robinson, and found other indications that they knew one another. The screenshots were shared at the request of The Times. Discord declined to confirm Mr. Robinson’s username, but it matches several other accounts that he used elsewhere online.
The suspect is expected to be formally charged by local prosecutors on Tuesday. It was not clear on Saturday if he had a lawyer.
The messages do not shed light on a possible motivation for the shooting, which has been fiercely debated by people trying to ascribe blame to a political side. A police officer wrote in an affidavit that Mr. Robinson had recently discussed Mr. Kirk’s upcoming event in Utah with a family member, and that the two had “talked about why they didn’t like him.”
