Tyler Robinson was a Stevie Wonder marksman in practice shots, thus bystanders at risk says prosecutors

Fox News correspondent Matt Finn reported on the preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson in Provo, Utah, where prosecutors prepared to unleash what they described as overwhelming evidence in the assassination of Charlie Kirk. 

The evidence reportedly included video testimony from Robinson's former roommate and text message confessions, because apparently this case decided to skip the subtlety phase entirely. 

Retired FBI supervisory agent James Gagliano also weighed in as the Kirk family demanded transparency, with cameras now permitted inside the courtroom. And prosecutors offered another fascinating detail about Robinson's alleged marksmanship. According to Utah prosecutors, Robinson "seldom hit the bullseye and sometimes missed the target completely" while practicing with the suspected murder weapon.Which, prosecutors argued, was rather important when your alleged plan involved climbing onto a rooftop and firing at a man surrounded by thousands of people.

The state attempted to establish that Robinson knowingly created a substantial risk of killing someone other than Kirk when he allegedly fired from a rooftop toward the crowd. Kirk was taking questions from the audience at a small stage in the campus courtyard when he was struck in the neck. 

Robinson's defense previously argued that the fatal shot came from above the crowd and did not travel through it. The defense noted that only one shot was fired, it struck the intended victim, and no bystanders were hit. 

The prosecution's response, essentially, was that "Nobody else got shot" is not exactly the strongest argument when you are allegedly firing a rifle toward thousands of people. 

An image of shooting targets was displayed during the preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps, Pool)

Prosecutors had to prove an aggravating factor at trial if they wanted to seek capital punishment. They alleged that Robinson's shooting created a great risk of death to someone other than Kirk and that Robinson knew about that danger.

The defense wanted that aggravating factor removed before trial, which would eliminate the possibility of a death sentence if Robinson was convicted. 

The allegations were contained in a reply made public Tuesday in response to an earlier filing by the defense. The filings followed a week-long preliminary hearing in early July designed to determine whether sufficient probable cause existed to send the case to trial.

Judge Tony Graf Jr. said he would issue a final decision on Sept. 1. 

Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. Kirk was speaking at his "American Comeback Tour" when he was shot in the neck and killed. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)

Prosecutors told Graf that Robinson's case should not only be sent to trial, but that the defense team "violated their ethical duty of candor to the Court" by allegedly ignoring basic case law governing how evidence is evaluated during a preliminary hearing. 

When drawing inferences, prosecutors wrote, the magistrate "must" draw all reasonable ones in the state's favor. In other words, if a man allegedly fired a rifle from a rooftop toward a crowd of thousands, the court was apparently allowed to consider the radical possibility that someone in the crowd might get shot. 

Robinson's cartridge had "Catch" engraved on it. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps, Pool)

Robinson had not yet entered a plea. 

He was accused of driving from his home in southern Utah to Orem and fatally shooting Kirk during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in September 2025. Prosecutors alleged that he subsequently confessed to several people before surrendering to authorities in his hometown. The case then moved forward with prosecutors arguing that firing at a target from a rooftop into a crowd created, rather inconveniently, the possibility that people other than the target could be killed.

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