Police bodycam shows Tyler Robinson in 2022 fender-bender before Charlie Kirk shooting
Footage obtained by Scripps News shows the 19-year-old at the scene; prosecutors describe clothing as similar to what investigators say he wore during the 2025 attack at Utah Valley University.
A newly released police bodycam video from May 2022 shows Tyler Robinson, then 19, after a fender-bender in St. George, Utah, wearing sunglasses and a gray hat—a style prosecutors say resembles what he wore during the 2025 shooting of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
The eight-minute clip, obtained by Scripps News, captures Robinson calmly explaining the crash to responding officers after his silver Audi struck a Ford sedan making a left turn at an intersection. He tells officers, “As I was coming through, he turned in, and I T-boned into the side of him.” Robinson was driving with his brother in the passenger seat; the two other drivers involved, including the other driver, walked away unharmed. The siblings’ mother arrived at the scene later with insurance forms, and no citations were issued at the time.
Three years later, in September 2025, Robinson, now 22, is accused of firing the fatal shot that pierced Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s neck during the first stop of his “American Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley University in Orem. The attack sparked a national manhunt for the alleged gunman, with federal investigators releasing grainy, clothing-described images of a person seen on campus matching the suspect’s described look. Robinson was arrested about 33 hours after the shooting, with authorities saying he was turned over by his father.
Robinson has been charged with aggravated murder and related offenses, and Utah law allows the possibility of the death penalty. President Donald Trump has publicly supported Kirk in the wake of the incident, which has drawn renewed attention to political violence.
Prosecutors later disclosed in the indictment a text chain in which Robinson told a transgender partner that he had been planning the slaying for “a bit over a week,” a detail prosecutors say points to premeditation. The indictment also describes Robinson as holding “leftist ideology” and having been radicalized online, a characterization used by authorities in the charging documents. Utah remains one of a handful of states that still authorize firing squads as a method of capital punishment.
As the case moves through the courts, authorities say additional evidence and investigative work will shed more light on any potential links between the two incidents and the motives behind the 2025 shooting. The public record, as presented by prosecutors, centers on the timeline of events, the defendant’s alleged conduct, and the legal framework surrounding the charges.
