SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Nearly a year after Charlie Kirk was fatally shot at Utah Valley University, one of the last people to speak with him at the event says the experience changed the way he thinks about debate, politics and religion.

Henry Dells was the first person chosen to ask Kirk a question during the September 10, 2025, “Prove Me Wrong” event on the UVU campus.

Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was speaking to a crowd of thousands when he was shot and killed.

Dells, who was living in Utah at the time but was not a UVU student, said he had wanted the chance to challenge Kirk.

“I loved Charlie. He was really cool. I didn’t agree with him on everything, but I loved his debate tactic,” Dells said.

His question focused on religion rather than politics. Dells, who had previously been an atheist and identified at the time as a Latter-day Saint, told Kirk he believed Mormonism was more historically accurate than Protestantism and challenged him to “prove me wrong.”

“I’m glad that we ended really more on a basis where we had mutual respect for each other,” he said.

Dells then moved only a short distance from the stage. Because the crowd was packed tightly together, he said he could not easily leave the area.

He was standing near the amphitheater talking with a reporter about his conversation with Kirk when he heard a loud pop.

“To me, I thought someone set off a firecracker,” Dells said.

It was only after he looked toward Kirk that he realized what had happened.

“I see Charlie and his neck and his wound and him falling over, and that’s when everyone got down,” Dells said.

The shooting launched a massive investigation and led to the arrest and prosecution of Tyler Robinson, who is accused of killing Kirk.

A Utah judge ruled September 1, 2026, that Robinson must stand trial on seven charges, including aggravated murder. Robinson pleaded not guilty.

For Dells, however, the aftermath has been less about the courtroom and more about processing what happened to him.

Friends and family stayed with him in the days after the shooting, but he said he initially felt numb rather than traumatized. As calls and messages poured in after people learned he had been at the event, he said he tried to put the experience aside.

“I wasn’t letting myself feel like what happened,” Dells said. “I was just more void and numb.”

Eventually, he went to therapy. “A lot of emotions came out,” he said.

Dells also left Utah and returned to Texas. He said the shooting was one factor in that decision, along with a number of other experiences that had already made him consider leaving.

A year later, Dells said he feels largely back to normal.

“It’s something that’s always going to be there in the back of your mind,” he said.

Perhaps the biggest change, he said, has been the way he approaches disagreement.

Before the shooting, Dells said, he was more argumentative and focused on winning debates. Now, he wants to remain firm in his beliefs while showing more compassion toward people who disagree with him.

“I just urge everyone to try to pause and think, find a way that we can still unite.”

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The Utah Jazz are six weeks away from tipping off their 2026-27 regular season campaign.

And for the most part, the Jazz’s work around the roster has been completed before the start of next season. They’ve had a successful draft and free agency period that’s now brought this roster to a better state than things have looked since the start of their rebuild process in 2022.

However, that’s not to say all of the Jazz’s outstanding priorities have been addressed to bring their offseason to 100% completion. A select few tasks are still on the Jazz’s to-do list to truly finalize how this roster looks for day one of the new season, and are bound to be answered in the days and weeks ahead.

Let’s break down the three biggest priorities that the Jazz have on tap between now and the start of next season:

1. Fill Their Final 15-Man Roster Spot

After the Jazz opted to move on from both Cody Williams and John Konchar a couple of weeks ago via trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah now has one open roster spot left to tackle before the season gets rolling.

Right now, the Jazz have 14 traditional contracts, three two-way deals, and a training camp contract for Harrison Ingram. Utah could decide to sign one of those lesser contracts, such as Blake Hinson’s, to a traditional contract, or an external addition could be picked up.

As to how the Jazz address that open spot remains to be seen. However, the front office at least has some additional options to tweak the back-end of their roster in whatever way they deem fit.

2. Decide on Keyonte George, Brice Sensabaugh Extensions

The Jazz have two players from their 2023 draft class who are now eligible for a rookie-scale extension: Keyonte George and Brice Sensabaugh. Each is in a bit different tier as it pertains to value and role in Utah’s future plans, though each could feasibly find their way to a second contract in Utah based on how their first three years have gone.

The question though remains whether or not the Jazz decide to put pen to paper on those new contracts before the regular season, or if they decide to wait until next offseason to decide on the future of both.

If the Jazz want to maintain flexibility in terms of their finances, the Jazz will hold off on signing either George or Sensabaugh. If security is the priority for both sides, then a new deal is well within the realm of possibilities before late October.

3. Guarantee Mo Bamba’s Contract–– Or Don’t

The Jazz have 14 traditional contracts signed onto their current roster. Yet, one of those deals, Mo Bamba’s, is non-guaranteed. If Utah wanted to cut ties with Bamba before the season started, they could do so to only incur a $200,000 cap hit before the season. If he’s on the roster for opening night, $500,000 is paid out his way.

So the Jazz are due to decide whether or not it’s worth keeping Bamba around as one of their final pieces on the roster, or if they find another player who’s more worthy of that spot than the backup big man.

To this point, it feels more likely than not that Bamba will remain a part of the roster when the Jazz are on the floor against the Memphis Grizzlies. At the very least, though, they have the flexibility to switch things up.

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