A former Utah Valley University police officer testified Monday he heard a gunshot and saw Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk fall to the ground while engaging in a verbal exchange with students.
Prosecutors called Officer Chris Bagley as their first witness in what is expected to be a multiday probable cause hearing for the prosecution of Tyler Robinson, the 23-year-old electrician apprentice charged with murdering Kirk.
The hearing was underway in Utah County, Utah, amid heavy security and a courtroom full of VIPs.
Kirk’s parents and his widow, Erika Kirk, were in attendance along with Donald Trump Jr., who was a close friend of Kirk, the TPUSA co-founder and conservative influencer who was assassinated at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025.
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Mrs. Kirk and his parents left the courtroom before Mr. Bagley began describing the shooting.
Mr. Bagley said he saw Kirk arrive on campus and watched him as he sat under a white tent at the outdoor event and engaged in a Q&A with students.
He said he was watching Kirk while a student asked a question, then “heard a shot fired,” and saw Kirk “go to the left.”
The students crowded on the grass “were screaming, standing up and started to run in all different directions from the center of the tent.”
Mr. Bagley is among several witnesses expected to testify at the hearing, which prosecutors warned would display exhibits that are “graphic in nature.”
Kirk was killed by the sniper’s bullet, which struck him in the front of his neck. His murder was recorded on cellphones by those in attendance, and the graphic video was posted all over social media. Prosecutors plan to put forward dozens of exhibits at the hearing that they say show Mr. Robinson’s guilt, including a recorded statement from Lance Twigg, who was Mr. Robinson’s romantic partner, in which Mr. Robinson confessed to shooting Kirk.
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Prosecutors will also show photos of the antique rifle used in the shooting, DNA evidence tying it to Mr. Robinson, and Utah Valley University surveillance footage.
Prosecutors said they will show three videos of the shooting from different angles.
Mr. Robinson has not entered a plea in the case. He is charged with aggravated murder and faces the death penalty.
