Charlie Kirk Shooter's Shell Casings Don't Suggest 'Trans Ideology.' Here's What They Mean.

Despite what the Wall Street Journal initially reported, none of the inscriptions spread "transgender ideology."

Shell casings recovered along with the weapon used to assassinate Charlie Kirk suggest the shooter was deeply familiar with internet meme culture, with three of the four casings inscribed with online lingo the average person would find inscrutable.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) relayed the writing to reporters at a press conference Friday, where he also confirmed 22-year-old Tyler Robinson had been arrested as the prime suspect in the shooting.

Earlier reporting, spread most prominently by The Wall Street Journal, described the casings as “engraved with transgender and antifascist ideology.” It’s unclear how the Wall Street Journal drew that conclusion, with the outlet citing an “early bulletin” that was shared among law enforcement. While two of the casings certainly allude to fascism, one potentially favorably, none of the messages are even remotely related to trans people.

According to Cox, a single fired casing, belonging to the bullet that hit and killed Kirk, read, “Notices bulges. OwO, what’s this?”

The phrase references a meme popularized around 2015 parodying furries, in which one furry notices the “bulge” in another furry’s pants and reacts with wide-eyed surprise, as denoted by the “OwO” emoticon, according to Know Your Meme.