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Video games, Reddit and Discord: How did the internet contribute to the radicalization of the Charlie Kirk shooting suspect?
The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has quickly moved beyond political discourse and into the depths of internet culture. As investigators piece together the events surrounding his killing, a detail has emerged: the suspect allegedly inscribed references to memes, songs, and even video games onto bullet casings recovered at the scene. Those etchings have since become central to the public's understanding of how deeply the crime appears rooted in online subcultures.
<social>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICZSQKf2XLg</social>
Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot and killed during a campus event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Authorities say the shooter, 22-year-old Tyler James Robinson, fired a single round from a rooftop using a high-powered bolt-action rifle. While the act itself was devastating, much of the discussion has now focused on the cryptic markings left behind.
One casing carried the phrase "Notices bulge OwO what's this?" A meme tied to furry roleplay culture and often used both mockingly and ironically within online communities. Another read "If you read this, you are gay, LMAO," a line that internet culture analysts describe as boilerplate "edgelord speak." Yet another featured the words "O Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao," a lyric from an Italian anti-fascist anthem that has been repurposed as a rallying tune in certain Twitch and Discord gaming circles.
But the most notable inscription, according to law enforcement, carried a sequence of arrows: ↑ → ↓ ↓ ↓. That combination appears to be a direct nod to Helldivers 2, a cooperative shooter where players use button codes to trigger support actions. Specifically, the sequence corresponds to calling in a 500kg bomb, an unmistakable reference for anyone familiar with the game.
<social>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-Zi-sMb3qA</social>
For investigators and analysts, the arrow code highlighted a clear link between the shooting and gaming culture. Helldivers 2 has built a reputation as a game steeped in militaristic satire, where teamwork, sacrifice, and chaotic violence are part of the experience. Within its player base, those command codes are instantly recognizable shorthand.
It's not the first time video games have been pulled into real-world violence, not necessarily as causes, but as cultural markers. From Call of Duty voice lines turned into TikTok jokes to Among Us slang permeating political discourse, the boundary between digital entertainment and public life has long been porous. What makes this case chilling is how a violent act was deliberately branded with references from that space.
The irony is that Kirk himself rose to prominence by being, in many ways, "extremely online." As founder of Turning Point USA, he mastered the art of viral clips, social media soundbites, and college-campus confrontations packaged for YouTube and TikTok. He became a digital-era equivalent of Rush Limbaugh, controversial, polarizing, and omnipresent for a younger audience consuming politics primarily through screens.
<social>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g25ihkEfng</social>
That parallel with his alleged killer has not gone unnoticed. Both men operated within ecosystems shaped by memes, streams, and algorithm-driven content, even if from opposite ideological angles, underscoring how internet-native culture has become inseparable from both politics and tragedy.
As details continue to emerge, the inclusion of gaming references in Kirk's assassination raises questions about how online humor and entertainment symbols are being reappropriated. To many players, Helldivers 2's arrow codes are simply a cooperative mechanic. To others now, they will be remembered as part of a violent real-world act.
The debate is not about whether video games cause violence (a theory widely debunked) but about how they serve as a cultural language. In this case, that language was used to turn a political killing into a spectacle steeped in the imagery of gaming and memes.