How BBC Verify authenticated the first footage of Charlie Kirk’s shootingpublished at 11:39 BST
Thomas Copeland
BBC Verify Live journalist
During high-profile incidents like the shooting of Charlie Kirk, as misinformation and rumour circulate online within minutes, our first job at BBC Verify is to source and authenticate video content and then distribute verified footage to teams across the BBC.
News first began to spread that Kirk has been shot just after 12:20 local time (19:20 BST) at Utah Valley University.
Within about 20 minutes of the first videos emerging online, we had verified and circulated an initial two videos of the attack.
The first showed people who were attending Kirk’s event on the campus running away from the scene after the sound of a gunshot.
The second video was a highly graphic close-up in which we hear a shot, then see Kirk jolt back in his chair with blood pouring from his neck.
Image source, XWe continued to verify footage of the shooting through the hours that followed.
Just before 22:00 BST we authenticated another highly graphic close-up video in which we could hear that Kirk was speaking to a questioner about US mass shootings in the seconds before he was shot.
Image source, XAt an evening briefing held by law enforcement agents in Utah we learned that they were studying CCTV from the university because they believed the suspect was “all dressed in black” and the shot “came from a roof”.
Just after midnight UK time, BBC Verify had geolocated two videos showing a dark shape moving on the roof of a university building which we identified as the Losee Center, located about 150 yards from where Kirk was sitting.
Further information has emerged overnight and BBC Verify is now are working to piece together a detailed timeline of the shooting, pinpoint the location from where the fatal shot was fired, and track misinformation as it spreads online.