‘OwO’: The meaning of the messages Charlie Kirk’s accused assassin left behind
Investigators found a bolt-action rifle, along with four bullet casings engraved with slang phrases and symbols near the Utah Valley University site where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed Wednesday, Sept. 10.
Phrases like “bella ciao” and “OwO” were some of the words etched into the metal bullet casings, officials say. These messages may sound like gibberish unless you’re a gamer or a chronic internet sleuth. Some of the wording suggests a political ideology, specifically with anti-fascist language.
Shooting suspect Tyler Robinson seemed to be very active online as a gamer. He was even active hours after the shooting Sept. 10. He wrote in an online gaming Discord chat to his friends that his “doppelganger” was trying to get him in trouble. On Thursday, Sept. 11, Robinson wrote back to the chat, “It was me at UVU yesterday. im sorry for all of this,” hours before being taken into custody.
In text messages to his romantic partner revealed Wednesday, Sept. 17, Robinson said, “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.” The text messages also revealed that the messages Robinson left were “mostly a big meme.”
Before the text messages were unsealed, the bullet casings were some of the first clues investigators had towards the “why” of Kirk’s assassination.
Here are the messages that Robinson said he left on the bolt-action rifle bullet casings and what officials say they mean.
What messages were engraved into the bullet casings?
“Notices Bulge OwO What’s This?”
“OwO” is slang used on social media and texting which is meant to mimic a face of a furry or anime character with the Os acting as wide eyes. Collins Dictionary also says it is an “expression of surprise” that was “originally an emoji.”
Writer and podcaster Ryan Broderick, who specializes in internet culture, told PBS this message “doesn’t mean that Robinson is a member of [the furry] subculture, but he is of an age where he would have grown up online seeing it everywhere. It’s a bit of what they would call cringe humor.”
“If you read This, you are GAY Lmao.”
The New York Times reported this phrase is a common insult across the internet. Broderick calls it “boilerplate troll behavior” meant to embarrass law enforcement.
“hey fascist! CATCH! (up arrow symbol, right arrow symbol, and three down arrow symbols).”
Experts suspect the arrows to be a controller sequence from the video game “Helldivers 2.” The “^>vvv” button sequence unleashes a powerful bomb in the game.
Steve Iannelli, an experienced player of the game, told the New York Times: “It’s a joke in the ‘Helldivers’ community that you can shut down any argument you disagree with by entering ^ > vvv and blowing the whole thing up.”
“Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao.”
“Bella Ciao,” was a popular anti-fascist anthem that was sung in Italy after World War II. The song is sung annually on April 25 in honor of Liberation Day, the celebration of the end of Benito Mussolini’s fascist dictatorship and Nazi occupation in Italy.
“It’s common among anti-fascist and leftist communities, but it’s also a popular fixture in pop culture,” Broderick told PBS.
However, it, too has a gamer meaning.
“In recent years it [the song] has become known worldwide thanks to its inclusion in the hit Netflix series ‘Money Heist’ and in video games, including in the first-person shooter game ‘Far Cry 6,.” according to the New York Times.
This story was originally published September 17, 2025 at 5:13 PM.