Bullet casings recovered from the fatal shooting of conservative youth leader Charlie Kirk included anti-fascist and taunting messages, according to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.

Cox detailed the inscriptions on the casings at a Sept. 12 press conference where he announced the identity of the suspected shooter, 22-year-old Utah man Tyler Robinson.

One shell casing read: "Hey fascist! Catch!"

"I think that that speaks for itself," Cox told reporters.

Cox didn't provide a visual image of the inscriptions or detail the punctuation, spelling, or capitalization within them.

The inscription on one recovered fired casing said "Notices, bulges, OwO what's this?"

There were also inscriptions on three recovered unfired casings. Those said:

  • "Hey fascist! Catch!" followed by an up arrow symbol, a right arrow symbol, and three down arrow symbols
  • "Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao"
  • "If you read this, you are gay LMAO"

"Notices, bulges, OwO what's this?" is part of an internet meme and iterative slang that circulated in 2018 and 2019. It has ties to animated videos and furries. "OwO" references an emoticon, and “what’s this?” denotes cuteness or curiosity. The terms are frequently referenced by video game streamers.

"Bella Ciao" is an Italian song dedicated to resistance fighters against the Nazi troops occupying the country during WWII. It is a rallying cry for anti-fascists.

"LMAO" stands for "laughing my ass off."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Charlie Kirk suspect's bullet casings engraved with taunting, anti-fascist messages

Reporting by Aysha Bagchi and Nick Penzenstadler, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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