The shooting death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk at an event at the University of Utah on September 10th immediately made headlines across the country, as it is yet another example of how the rise of politically motivated violence in the United States has become hard to ignore. 

The manhunt for the killer began swiftly after the tragedy, but recently, according to CBS News, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson was identified as the shooter and taken into custody. Authorities connected the case to him through his messages on the social platform Discord that referenced a rifle and bullets abandoned in the woods.

Ever since the information was published on large news platforms across the world, those upset by Kirk’s death have flocked to social media in classic amateur-detective-on-Facebook fashion to find out more information about Tyler Robinson.

Now, wouldn’t it be a shame to have the same name as a murderer? Well, that’s exactly what’s happening to an English teacher here at Stafford High School: Mr. Tyler Robinson.

When interviewed for his thoughts on the coincidence, he replied with a knowing grin, “Yeah, I’m absolutely cooked.” He says that his social media accounts, like X, have begun to flood with comments clearly made out of blind rage, and perhaps even a sense of vigilante-ness. 

Mr. Robinson’s son, Colin, a junior at Stafford, wasn’t aware of these comments, and a surprise showed on his face when he learned about the confusion. The often playful, younger Robinson reacted with a startled: “Wait, are you serious?” 

His surprise is justified; sometimes it’s hard to believe that people would be so quick to jump online and harass someone, especially when armed with not much more than a common name and some extremely strong opinions. It’s internet pile-on culture at its most predictable. “It just shows how people turn into a mob mentality, especially when emotions are high,” Colin expressed. 

Despite this, Colin chuckled as he recalled seeing his dad’s reaction to the release of the shooter’s name. “My dad was going down the hallway saying ‘I’m cooked,’ and I was like ‘what’s wrong, Dad?’ and he was like, ‘His name’s Tyler Robinson.’” 

Like most teenage boys would, Colin is taking the entire thing just as lightly as everyone else. Through laughter, he retells the joke he made to his dad. “And I was like, ‘Is that why you were in Utah?’’’ He says that he’ll still be laughing about this in the future, and that soon enough, “people are going to forget about it.”

Other staff members have taken note of the unfortunate relation as well. Fellow English teacher at Stafford, Cyrus Breslow, says, “As soon as it came out, other teachers passed it around as a joke to him… But I have a feeling he believes it’s funny. It makes me grateful that I have an uncommon name.”

Despite the undeniable heaviness surrounding the entire situation, Mr. Robinson has been taking this extremely well. The coincidence is naturally a bit of a jarring one, but he has chosen not to let it affect him too much.