(CN) – A former Utah Valley University officer could see Charlie Kirk in the moments before a gunman fired the shots that killed him.
Christopher Bagley, a campus police officer on Sept. 10, 2025, said he saw the Turning Point USA co-founder arrive at the university that day. Kirk participated in a meet-and-greet and posed for photos with fans before appearing on an open patio for a rally that drew thousands of attendees.
“I heard an individual talking to Charlie,” Bagley testified Monday during the first day of a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, 23, who faces manslaughter charges in Kirk’s death. “He was answering a question, a kid was asking a question, then I heard a shot.”
It was 12:23 p.m., Bagley said.
The officer – one of six on the scene that day – described the moments leading up to and after Kirk’s shooting before Fourth Circuit Judge Tony Graf Jr., who is presiding over the case. Testimony from Bagley and another law enforcement agent painted a picture of the day’s events, linking Robinson and his silver Dodge Challenger to the university on the day of the shooting.
The judge will determine whether there is sufficient probable cause for the case against Robinson to proceed to trial, where he could face the death penalty if convicted.
The preliminary hearing is expected to last throughout the week. Bagley was the first witness called by prosecutors.
According to Bagley, thousands of bystanders began running from outside after hearing the gunshots. The rally quickly turned into chaos. Recognizing the gunshots, Bagley said he began running down nearby stairs to reach the yard — sometimes jumping over people climbing the stairs to escape.
Bagley said he reached the bottom of the stairs when he heard on the radio that an attacker was in custody. Authorities later learned that a man had falsely claimed to have shot Kirk. However, at that time Bagley acted on the information he had, choosing to search for injured people and guard the crime scene.
Bagley removed the people from the area when he noticed an empty handgun holster nearby. He said the shot he heard sounded like a rifle, not a pistol, and came from the east. Standing at ground level, Bagley saw that the nearby Losee Center had a line of sight to Kirk’s location.
The officer left the holster empty. It was never taken into evidence — a point Kathy Nester, one of Robinson’s defense attorneys, questioned Bagley about.
Instead, Bagley said he went to the roof of the Losee Center, arriving at 12:44 p.m. Once there, he noticed a red and black screwdriver on the roof, as well as gravel that had been moved.
“I saw a distinct impression in the gravel,” he added. “To me, it looks like a sniper’s pillow.”
Bagley said it appeared someone had been lying on the site, as he saw scratches on the elbow and legs along with where a gun might have been.
Contacting dispatchers, Bagley soon discovered that surveillance footage showed a man running to the edge of the Losee Center roof before beginning to crawl.
“The individual stood up after the shooting and ran northeast on top of the building,” Bagley said.
After seeing the surveillance footage himself, Bagley said he realized the crime scene was bigger than first thought.
Prosecutors used their second witness, David Hull — a former Utah Bureau of Investigation agent who now works with the state Department of Public Safety — to put into evidence a handful of videos taken from the rally. While Graf allowed the videos in, he watched many of them himself without sound and out of public view.
One of the videos made by a participant shows the first moments of the rally. Another involved the moment the bullet hit Kirk.
Hull said his office received information on Sept. 11 identifying Robinson as a suspect and that he wanted to turn himself in to authorities. Using that name and the description of a silver Dodge Challenger, agents determined that Robinson visited the university campus four times on the day Kirk was shot.
Authorities have said Robinson confessed or implied his involvement in the shooting to a family member, as well as leaving a note for his roommate and girlfriend.
After the shooting, Robinson texted his roommate, directing them to a note in which he wrote that he had an opportunity to “take down” Kirk. Agents spoke with the roommate, leading them to Discord messages from Robinson about a rifle drop point and seeing the area where the rifle was left, officials said.
Authorities said a bolt-action rifle was found in the woods near the university, adding that it appeared to be the weapon used in the fatal shooting.
The hearing was attended by Kirk’s parents, Kathryn and Robert, his widow Erika, and President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Jr.
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