Charlie Kirk Shooting: DNA From Towel Wrapped Around Alleged Assassination Rifle Matches Suspect Tyler Robinson, FBI Confirms

Charlie Kirk's suspected shooter's DNA was found on a towel wrapped around the alleged assassination rifle.

FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed on Monday, September 15, that both a towel concealing the gun police believed was used to kill Kirk and a screwdriver that was found on the rooftop where the killer positioned himself had a genetic match to suspect Tyler Robinson, 22.

"I can report today that the DNA hits from the towel that was wrapped around the firearm and the DNA on the screwdriver are positively processed for the suspect in custody," Patel revealed while speaking on Fox News.

The FBI director noted that DNA found on the bolt-action hunting rifle discovered in a wooded area near the Utah Valley University campus is still being analyzed to determine if it matches that of Robinson.

According to Patel, Robinson sent a text message to a friend discussing how he had an opportunity to "take out Charlie Kirk" and promised he was "going to take it because of his hatred for what Charlie stood for."

When asked by Fox & Friends host Ainsley Earhardt why the person on the receiving end of the text messages didn't bring this information to police ahead of the shooting, the FBI boss said the investigation is still ongoing.

Patel then praised the FBI for the speed at which they caught the suspected killer — who was turned in by a minister through his father.

"If you look at historical cases like [Luigi] Mangione and the Boston bombing, those two manhunts took five days. We apprehended our suspect in 33 hours because we were transparent and open," he declared.

Patel additionally confirmed a prior revelation from Utah Governor Spencer Cox that "the suspect has not been cooperating so far."

"We're getting all of this information from family members, again, people around the suspect, and the forensic information that we have,” Cox said during an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, September 14.

Robinson was identified through the FBI’s facial recognition database, however, he tried to claim to friends on Discord that his "doppelgänger" was the shooter and had been trying to "get me in trouble."

During the online chat conversation, a member of the group teased about turning Robinson in for a $100,000 reward, to which the suspect replied: "Only if I get a cut."

Robinson was eventually turned in to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, September 11, and has been in police custody ever since.