Utah Valley University did not have a robust security plan in place and failed to properly follow its own guidelines for major events on the day Charlie Kirk was assassinated on the school’s campus, according to an independent report on the shooting released Friday.
The 158-page independent review of the events surrounding the Sep. 10, 2025, assassination of the Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder determined that nobody at the university acted “in bad faith or in willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others.”
But the report identified several eyebrow-raising decisions by school officials that “warrant attention as UVU considers how to strengthen the safety and security of campus events in the future.”
“The September 10 TPUSA event presented several characteristics that warranted a more formal event security planning process,” the report stated, noting that Kirk was a high-profile speaker, there was anticipated protest activity, uncertainty about how many people were attending and the event was taking place outdoors near “elevated vantage points.”
“Although some coordination occurred among University stakeholders, UVUPD, UVU Event Services, and TPUSA representatives, the club event was not supported by a comprehensive written Security Assessment or Event Action Plan,” investigators found.
The report noted that the outdoor location for the Kirk event was “surrounded by buildings, elevated areas, pedestrian routes, and multiple vantage points,” making “line-of-sight assessment, elevated-position review, building access control, arrival and departure planning, crowd control, protest management, and fixed-post assignments especially important.”
While some concerns were “recognized and responded to” by university personnel, the planning process did not include several critical measures, including a “line-of-sight assessment, protective operations considerations, pre-event briefing, structured walk-through with all key security stakeholder.”
There was also no “clear coordination process” with Kirk’s private security team or external law enforcement.
The original day-of security posture planned for only three university law enforcement officers securing the event, which was attended by several thousand people.
The number was upped to six when the university policy chief noticed the size of the crowd, according to the report.
Investigators also found that the university deferred critical decision-making, including where to hold the event, to TPUSA staff.
In an August 2025 meeting with TPUSA staff, some university officials expressed concerns about holding the event outdoors and suggested multiple other locations.
However, a TPUSA representative insisted that Kirk speak at a campus courtyard because he had previously used that space and the organization was familiar with the location.
The organization also wanted to use its own ticketing process, rather than the university’s, which prevented school officials from knowing exactly how many people would be attending the event.
“In our assessment, those decisions were consequential,” the report said.
The university’s actions were “significantly inconsistent” with its policies for major events, it added.
The report noted that TPUSA and Kirk’s security team did not participate in the review.
Earlier this month, the Kirk family issued a wrongful death notice to the university signaling a potential lawsuit against the school was forthcoming.
The notice accused the school of “reckless decisions,” including not having emergency first responders, which allegedly hastened Kirk’s death.
“The buck stopped with UVU leadership and law enforcement,” family attorney Brett Parkinson said in a statement, obtained by the Associated Press. “Justice for Charlie and his family requires true accountability for UVU’s fatal shortcomings that day.”
Utah Valley President Jon Anderson said in a statement that the school has a responsibility to “learn from the findings of this review, and follow through on its recommendations.”
He added that the university has made “meaningful progress in strengthening campus safety over the past year.”
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