Officer recounts 'sniper pad' discovery after Charlie Kirk shooting

(CN) — A former Utah Valley University officer could see Charlie Kirk in the moments before a gunman fired the shot that killed him.

Christopher Bagley, a campus police officer on Sept. 10, 2025, said he saw the co-founder of Turning Point USA arrive at the university that day. Kirk attended a meet-and-greet and took pictures with fans before appearing in an outdoor courtyard 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 murder charges in Kirk’s death. “He was answering a question, a kid was asking a question, then I heard a shot fired.”

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 District Judge Tony Graf Jr., who is presiding over the case. The testimony from Bagley and another law enforcement agent painted a picture of the day’s events, connecting Robinson and his silver Dodge Challenger to the university the day of the shooting.

The judge will determine whether enough probable cause exists for the case against Robinson to advance toward trial, where he’d face the death penalty if convicted.

The preliminary hearing is expected to last all week. Bagley was the first witness called by prosecutors.

According to Bagley, thousands of attendees began running from the outdoor venue after hearing the gunshot. The rally quickly turned to chaos. Recognizing gunfire, Bagley said he began running down nearby stairs to reach the courtyard — at times jumping over people climbing the steps to escape.

Bagley said he reached the staircase’s bottom when he heard on the radio that a shooter was in custody. Authorities learned later a man had falsely claimed to have shot Kirk. However, at the time Bagley acted on the information he had, opting to search for injured people and preserve the crime scene.

Bagley removed people from the area when he spotted a nearby, empty pistol holster. He said the shot he heard sounded like a rifle, not a pistol, and came from the east. Standing at ground level, Bagley saw the nearby Losee Center had a line of sight to Kirk’s location.

The officer left the empty holster. 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, reaching it at 12:44 p.m. Once there, he spotted 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 pad.”

Bagley said it appeared that someone had laid in the spot, as he saw elbow and feet indentations along with a spot 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’s roof before starting to crawl.

“The individual stood up after the shooting and ran northeast on top of the building,” Bagley said.

Watching the surveillance footage himself, Bagley said he realized the crime scene was larger than first thought.

Prosecutors used their second witness, David Hull — a former Utah Bureau of Investigations agent who now works with the state Department of Public Safety — to place a handful of videos taken of the rally into evidence. While Graf allowed the videos in, he watched many of them himself without sound and outside of public view.

One of the videos taken by an attendee shows the rally’s first moments. Another included the moment the bullet struck Kirk.

Hull said his office received information on Sept. 11 that identified Robinson as the 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’s campus four times the day Kirk was shot.

Authorities have said Robinson confessed or implied his involvement to the shooting to a family member, as well as leaving a note for his roommate and lover.

After the shooting, Robinson texted his roommate, directing them to a note in which he wrote he had an opportunity to “take out” Kirk. Agents spoke with the roommate, leading them to Discord messages from Robinson about a rifle drop point and watching the area where the rifle was left, officials have said.

Authorities have said a bolt-action rifle was found in the woods near the university, adding it appeared to be the gun 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.