Charlie Kirk murder suspect Tyler Robinson must stand trial: 8 takeaways from judge's ruling, lawyers' arguments
Judge keeps death penalty on table
4. Prosecutor claims Robinson knew risk of death of bystanders
The prosecution argued that the risk of death to bystanders is applicable because a person cannot shoot a rifle into a crowd of at least 3,000 people without knowing there is a risk of death to everyone present.
"He came on a mission to kill Charlie Kirk, and if he missed, so be it. He was prepared to take other shots. Let the casualties be what they may," Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride argued during Tuesday's hearing.
The prosecutor further argued that the defense was wrong when they claimed that the aggravating circumstance doesn't apply because the suspect did not fire multiple rounds or kill anyone other than Kirk.
“You can’t shoot a rifle into a crowd of 3,000 people without knowing that you create a great risk of death to all those around your target,” McBride claimed.
McBride also cited the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, to make his case that there was a risk of death to others in the killing of TPUSA's co-founder.
Trump survived because he turned his head, but the shooter struck multiple people in the vicinity and fatally shot one rallygoer.
“Not only is there common sense, but there’s recent precedent,” the prosecutor argued. “You shoot at someone in a public assassination attempt, you have a great risk of killing someone else.”
The charges against Robinson in the killing of Kirk include: aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, two counts of obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering, and committing a violent act in the presence of a child.
The prosecutor asked the court “to bind over the defendant on all charges.”
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
