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Utah prosecutors on Tuesday showed video from the day of Charlie Kirk’s killing that they said depicted suspect Tyler James Robinson entering the Utah Valley University campus and climbing on to a roof where they say he fired a fatal shot at the conservative commentator.
The Utah county attorney’s office presented the evidence on the second day of a week-long preliminary hearing in which the state must prove to a state district judge that there was enough evidence for the case to move to trial.
Robinson, 23, has been charged with aggravated murder in the killing of Kirk, who died after being shot in the neck while speaking at the Utah university last September.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Robinson, and say there is DNA evidence that links him to the weapon believed to be used in the killing. The state has also said Robinson allegedly confessed in a note he left his roommate and romantic partner. Robinson has not yet entered a plea in the case.
The proceedings this week marked the first time Kirk’s family and his widow, Erika Kirk, have been in the courtroom with his accused killer. Donald Trump Jr, a close friend of Kirk’s, was also in attendance on Monday.
On the first day of the hearing, Christopher Bagley, a former Utah Valley University police officer, described hearing a gunshot while Kirk was speaking to thousands of people on 10 September 2025, and the panic that ensued.
“Everybody kind of got up. A lot of people were screaming and starting to run in all different directions,” Bagley told the court.
He searched for additional victims, but finding none, moved to contain the scene to preserve evidence, he said. Shortly after, Bagley inspected the rooftop of a nearby building and saw impressions in the gravel that he believed suggested a sniper had been there.
The prosecution also submitted graphic footage of the shooting itself into evidence that was not shown to the public.
Tuesday’s proceedings began with David Hull, a former Utah state bureau of investigation agent, taking the stand. Hull narrated what was unfolding in videos played in court that he said showed Robinson arriving on campus, leaving and then returning later in different clothing.
Additional footage showed a person authorities believe to be Robinson entering a rooftop, running and then crouching down and lying prone until a shot was fired at 12.23, Hull said, at which point the person got up, lowered down from the roof and walked away from campus.
The prosecution also showed footage that Hull said showed Robinson’s vehicle on campus in the early morning hours of 11 September. A police officer interacted with the driver of the vehicle, Hull said, and in an act of “cop intuition” wrote down details about the exchange and a partial license plate number. After searching the number, authorities determined Robinson was an owner of the vehicle.
The prosecution and defense have clashed over additional videos the state introduced that included circled highlights and other changes that prosecutors said were designed to help viewers better understand the footage.
Later on Tuesday, prosecutors were expected to present a recorded statement from Robinson’s roommate and additional videos from law enforcement.
The hearing was expected to last five days.
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The Associated Press contributed reporting
