Robinson’s rifle also contained other rounds etched with mocking phrases and political references, further fueling speculation about his motives and ideology.

The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has taken a shocking new turn after investigators revealed disturbing details about the bullet that ended his life.

According to officials, the high-powered .30-06 rifle round that struck Kirk through the neck as he spoke at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, September 10, bore an engraving linked to obscure online subcultures.

The words “Notices bulge OwO what’s this?”—a phrase rooted in both transgender and furry meme communities—were carved into the casing, offering investigators a chilling glimpse into the mindset of alleged assassin Tyler Robinson.

The engraving was not the only bizarre message found. The rifle, a bolt-action hunting gun with a German Mauser-style action and telescopic scope, contained three additional live rounds, each etched with equally cryptic or mocking phrases:

“Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao,” referencing the famous Italian anti-fascist anthem; “Hey fascist! Catch!” with a nod to the popular video game Helldivers 2; and “If you read this, you are gay LMAO.”

Authorities say the shot was fired from an elevated sniper position roughly 200 yards from the university campus stage where Kirk was answering an audience member’s question about transgender mass shooters.

Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, collapsed instantly and was pronounced dead at the scene, sending shockwaves through the conservative movement and sparking a fierce debate nationwide about political violence and online extremism.

The engraving “Notices bulge OwO what’s this?” traces back to an internet “copypasta” first appearing on DeviantArt in 2013, later spreading through Tumblr and Imgur.

It became shorthand in furry and trans online communities for a mix of sexual innuendo and self-referential humor. The phrase “OwO” itself is an emoticon depicting wide eyes and a small mouth, often used to convey mock innocence or flirtation.

By 2015, it had been explicitly tied to roleplay scenarios involving anthropomorphic characters and, in some cases, explicit trans and furry erotica.

That link has not gone unnoticed by investigators. Robinson, 24, was living with a transgender partner, Lance Twiggs, at the time of the shooting.

Twiggs, who has been pictured wearing animal ear headbands and other furry-adjacent attire on TikTok, is reportedly cooperating with law enforcement.

While authorities have not confirmed whether Robinson’s alleged actions were directly motivated by transgender rights or furry culture, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said the assassin appeared “deeply indoctrinated in leftist ideology,” citing testimony from family and friends.

“The phrase engraved on that bullet casing wasn’t random,” one federal investigator told reporters on background.

“It points us toward specific online communities where radicalization, identity, and fringe humor overlap in dangerous ways.

We’re taking that seriously as part of motive analysis.”

The idea that a killer would inscribe internet memes on ammunition shocked many Americans but echoes patterns seen in recent years,

where mass shooters and assassins often leave behind online footprints littered with ironic jokes, extremist slogans, or coded internet references.

Experts say the trend reflects how digital subcultures increasingly bleed into real-world violence.

“Engravings like these are part performance, part ideology,” explained Dr. Mark Ellison, a sociologist who studies online radicalization.

“They’re meant to troll, to shock, to declare allegiance to niche communities, and sometimes to signal a kind of martyrdom. It’s a mix of internet irony and deadly intent.”

Governor Cox condemned both Robinson’s alleged actions and the broader influence of social media platforms, which he said have become “worse than cancer.”

Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday, Cox argued that addictive algorithms have fostered an epidemic of outrage and hatred.

“These companies have figured out how to hack our brains, get us addicted to outrage the same way you get addicted to fentanyl,” Cox said. “I believe social media has played a direct role in every single assassination attempt we’ve seen over the past five or six years.”

Kirk’s murder has already ignited a fierce national debate. Supporters have painted him as a martyr for free speech, while critics have noted his often inflammatory rhetoric on issues like immigration, education, and transgender identity.

The fact that he was shot while discussing transgender shooters only deepens the symbolic nature of the crime.

Robinson, who is being held without bond, has thus far refused to cooperate with authorities, according to Governor Cox.

“He has not confessed to authorities. He is not cooperating, but all the people around him are cooperating. And I think that’s very important,” Cox said on ABC’s This Week.

The bullet engravings, meanwhile, have become a cultural flashpoint of their own. Online, some furry and trans community members expressed outrage at the association, arguing that Robinson’s actions distorted and weaponized subcultures that are largely harmless.

Others, however, acknowledged the overlap between marginalized online identities and extremist tendencies, particularly among isolated young men immersed in digital worlds.

For Kirk’s supporters, the discovery of the engravings only heightens the sense of targeted malice. Candace Owens, who tearfully eulogized Kirk last week, shared the news on her podcast, calling it “the most sick, twisted thing I’ve ever heard.”

She added: “Charlie spent his life fighting to expose the dangers of internet radicalization, cancel culture, and leftist ideology. And he was literally killed with a bullet mocking him with memes from those same corners of the internet.”

As tributes continue to pour in for Kirk, authorities are piecing together the final puzzle of Robinson’s motivations. Was the killing an ideological strike, a personal vendetta, or simply the culmination of years of online indoctrination and obsession?

What is clear is that a single engraved bullet has opened a window into the strange, unsettling convergence of memes, subcultures, and political violence.

For now, investigators remain cautious but firm. “We’re not going to reduce this to just a joke or just internet weirdness,” said Chief Maria Gonzalez of the Provo Police Department.

“A man is dead. His children lost their father. The killer chose to leave messages that he knew would confuse, enrage, and provoke. That’s part of the crime, not separate from it.”

As Robinson awaits trial, the engraved words—half-meme, half-taunt—linger in the public imagination, a disturbing reminder of how the absurdity of online culture can spill violently into real life.