Less than two weeks after Charlie Kirk was shot dead, fresh details have emerged about the rifle used by Tyler Robinson to kill the MAGA firebrand.
The rifle, which reportedly belonged to Tyler's grandfather, was identified as a Mauser 98 model rifle. With a 30-06 calibre, the bolt-action rifle fires cartridges that are smaller that 8 mm.
This is body cam footage of Tyler Robinson being pulled over in 2022.
— Jennifer Coffindaffer (@CoffindafferFBI) September 20, 2025
Why is it important?
To an investigator, I want to know what Robinson normally wore on a day to day basis.
This shows me that his typical dress was jeans, a t-shirts, a ball cap, and sunglasses. - exactly… pic.twitter.com/UNNL8FleOP
Mauser 98 was used by the Germans during the First World War and a shorter version was used during the Second World War. After winning WWII, American soldiers brought home some of these rifles. This was long before the US created a law after the John F Kennedy assassination in 1963. Gun Control Act of 1968 mandated weapons to be marked with unique numbers that can be tracked backed to the original owner.
Tyler knew the gun could not be traced back to him
In his chat with his romantic partner and roommate, Tyler said that he was worried about finger prints and not the serial number. "IDK if it has a serial number but it wouldn’t trace to me. I’m worried about prints, I had to leave it in a bush where i changed outfits, didn’t have the ability or time to take it with," he wrote in the text.
The police found the rifle used by Tyler in a wooded area after he abandoned the weapon following the shooting. They eventually found Tyler's DNA from the rifle.
The bullets recovered from the rifle were engraved with texts like "Hey fascist! Catch!", "Oh, Bella Ciao!" and "If you read this you are gay LMAO".
Tyler told a family member that Charlie Kirk would visit Utah Valley University days before the shooting, discussing why he did not like him. "Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate," he reportedly said.
