The man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk strolled around a Utah campus in a T-shirt and shorts, ate a meal at Chick-fil-A and interacted with Kirk’s staff hours before the fatal shooting, a court has heard.
Tyler Robinson, 23, also returned to the Utah Valley University crime scene afterwards and briefly spoke with an officer, an investigator testified on the second day of a preliminary hearing to decide whether the evidence is strong enough for a trial.
“Tyler Robinson ate Chick-fil-A and interacted with Charlie Kirk's staff before allegedly shooting him, a court heard.”
David Hull, lead investigator for Utah’s state Bureau of Investigation, took the court through surveillance footage that allegedly showed Robinson on campus about four hours before the attack. He bought a meal at Chick-fil-A and was seen approaching members of Kirk’s Turning Point USA organisation, though Hull did not elaborate on the interaction.
Robinson left and returned about 90 minutes before the attack, now wearing different clothes and walking with a limp, according to Hull. The footage allegedly showed him making his way to the Losee Building and rolling over a railing onto the rooftop.
Shortly after the fatal shot rang out on 10 September 2025 — as Kirk addressed an audience — the same man was seen running across the roof, dropping down with an unknown object in his hands and fleeing campus. A rifle was later recovered “in the wooded area where we believe Mr Robinson entered the wooded area,” Hull told the court.
Hours after the attack, Robinson allegedly returned to the school. Hull testified that an officer briefly interacted with him near campus while a manhunt was underway in the early hours of 11 September. Robinson had tried to drive a grey Dodge Challenger onto campus but drove off after the officer spoke with him and noted his licence plate.
Robinson has not entered a plea, but his lawyers have disputed much of the evidence and expert testimony throughout the hearing. A video of the alleged assassin turning himself into police was also introduced by prosecutors.
Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s wife, came face-to-face with her husband’s alleged killer in court earlier this week, as the hearing continues to test the strength of the case against Robinson.
