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An independent review has identified multiple security shortcomings at Utah Valley University, where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead last year, according to the BBC.
The report said the university did not complete a proper written security assessment or prepare an event action plan. It also said key decisions were effectively left to Kirk’s organisation, Turning Point USA.
Kirk’s aides had insisted that the event be held outdoors despite concerns raised by university officials. The university then failed to fully assess the risks associated with holding the event in a courtyard surrounded by tall buildings, the review found.
Concerns over outdoor venue
Kirk, 31, was addressing about 3,000 people at the university’s campus in Orem when he was shot from a nearby rooftop on 10 September 2025.
University officials had raised concerns in August about the proposed location and suggested alternative venues, including indoor sites. However, a Turning Point representative reportedly argued for the courtyard because Kirk had spoken there before and the organisation was familiar with the venue.
Despite what the review described as “significant protective operations considerations”, no documented line-of-sight assessment was included in the planning process.
Coordination failures identified
The external reviewers also found weaknesses in coordination between university police and Kirk’s private security team. A planned meeting between the university police chief and Turning Point’s security personnel did not take place before the event.
The absence of a joint security briefing and site walk-through was described as a missed opportunity to identify risks, clarify responsibilities and consider additional protective measures.
However, the review concluded that no university employee or representative had acted in bad faith or shown “willful and wanton disregard” for anyone’s safety.
Kirk’s family said the findings supported their concerns about how the event had been managed. The family has previously accused the university of serious security failures and filed a wrongful-death notice, a step that may precede legal action.
Brett Parkinson, a lawyer for the family, said the report backed up the concerns raised by Kirk’s relatives. “The buck stopped with UVU leadership and law enforcement,” he said in a statement to the Associated Press. “Justice for Charlie and his family requires true accountability for UVU’s fatal shortcomings that day.”
Turning Point USA referred requests for comment to Parkinson’s statement.
University promises to implement recommendations
The review made numerous recommendations aimed at improving security at major university events. UVU President Jon Anderson said the institution must “learn from the findings of this review, and follow through on its recommendations”.
It had previously been reported that campus police did not carry out security measures now commonly used at high-profile events, including deploying a drone to monitor rooftops and using bag checks or metal detectors.
Kirk had been debating UVU students about mass shootings in the United States as part of a series of events at university campuses when he was shot in the neck shortly after noon. He was taken to hospital and later pronounced dead.
Tyler Robinson, who is accused of killing Kirk, has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
