First witness in Charlie Kirk case recalls moment he was shot as alleged killer appears in court
Topics: Charlie Kirk, US News, Tyler Robinson, Crime
Britt Jones
Featured Image Credit: Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images
Topics: Charlie Kirk, US News, Tyler Robinson, Crime
A person who was at the scene during Charlie Kirk’s assassination, and watched it happen, has revealed exactly what he saw in front of a jury.
A former campus police officer testified Monday (July 7) that he found something very telling in the case of Kirk’s death, as the alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, is fixed to appear before the courtroom.
Political activist and campaigner Kirk was shot dead at a college campus event at Utah’s university on September 10, 2025, sparking an urgent manhunt.
From there, Robinson, now 23, was apprehended and charged with seven offences, including aggravated murder and obstruction of justice after having attempted to dispose of evidence.
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Now, a preliminary court hearing has been held, where former Utah Valley University Officer Christopher Bagley said he witnessed Kirk's shooting and discovered a nearby gravel rooftop.
There, he said he found where it appeared someone had been set up with a ‘sniper’ known as a ‘sniper pad’.
"It looks like a sniper pad," Bagley said per PBS, adding, that this occurs when ‘you've got markings of elbows, knees and feet.’
He also explained the moment Kirk was killed, which led to Kirk's parents, Kathryn and Robert, and widow, Erika, choosing to leave the room.
Bagley explained that it was a cracking sound which he says alerted him to a potential riffle bullet being shot, instead of the pop you’d usually hear when confronted with something like a handgun.
Bullets shot from rifles carry more energy in comparison to handgun bullets, and can even destroy themselves in the process of being shot, per Steven Howard, a ballistics expert.
He told the Daily Mail: "Rifles have so much velocity and therefore so much energy, that the bullets a lot of times damage themselves to the point that you can't realistically match them up because they're so damaged."
The prosecution's first witness said he could see the right side of Kirk's body as it happened, revealing: "I saw him go to the left ... I could no longer see the right side of his body. Then everybody started getting up and started to run, more of a chaos situation."
However, Bagley’s testimony isn’t the only thing to have been taken into account today.
Instead, there was a sickening moment where previously unseen footage of the shooting was played out.
Utah State District Judge Tony Graf could be seen wincing as he watched the footage in a courtroom in Provo.
12pm - Kirk presents a scheduled event at Utah Valley University (UVU)
12.23pm - While taking a question on gun violence, Kirk is shot in the neck by a single bullet. Footage shows the podcaster slumped over before being carried in a car as the crowd erupts into panic.
2.40pm - President Donald Trump later confirmed Kirk’s passing on Truth Social, writing: “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.
"He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.”
At a press conference, authorities say they had discovered a bolt-action rifle wrapped in a towel, as well as some bullet casings with phrases like ‘Hey fascist, catch!’ and ‘notices, bulges, OWO, what's this?’. The latter is a reference to the furry subculture, which centres on human-like animals.
Meanwhile, the FBI releases images and video of a 'person of interest'. Tyler Robinson's mother allegedly recognizes him and his parents confront him.
Later that day, Robinson turns himself in to the police.
While appearing on Fox and Friends, Trump says a suspect was in custody: “Essentially, someone that was very close to him turned him in.”
Later, authorities announce Robinson’s arrest, who, according to investigators, had confessed to his father, leading to him calling a family friend, who then called the US Marshals, who detained the 22-year-old.
Kirk’s widow, Erika, gives her first statement after her husband’s passing, saying that his movement ‘is not going anywhere’.
She adds: “You have no idea the fire you've ignited within this wife. The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.”
Prosecutors reveal the charges against Robinson included aggravated murder, commission of a violent offence in the presence of a child, two counts of witness tampering, two counts of obstruction of justice and felony discharge of a firearm. Robinson makes his first initial court appearance.
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said prosecutors will seek the death penalty if he is convicted, adding: “I do not take this decision lightly.”
At Kirk’s memorial service on 21 September, the 37-year-old takes to the stage to pay tribute to her husband and reveal why she’d ‘forgiven’ his killer.
“My husband, he wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life,” she said.
"On the cross, our saviour said: ‘Father, forgive them for they not know what they do.’
"That man, that young man, I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it is what Charlie would do."
A five-day preliminary hearing begins, where prosecutors lay out the evidence against Robinson.