Report finds many security deficiencies at Utah university where Charlie Kirk was killed

Audio By Carbonatix

OREM, Utah (AP) — A new report on Charlie Kirk’s assassination last year says his Turning Point USA organization insisted he speak outdoors despite security concerns, while the university where he was killed didn’t properly assess dangers like the possibility of a rooftop shooter.

Those were among the key findings in an after-action report released Friday by Utah Valley University. The external, independent review assessed security procedures for the conservative firebrand’s Sept. 10, 2025, talk on the Orem campus, the university said. Investigators examined planning conversations between Turning Point and university officials, and the university’s response to the shooting.

The university did not conduct a formal security assessment, did not create a written event action plan and deferred critical decision making to Turning Point USA, the report said.

Kirk was killed by a sniper perched on a rooftop more than 400 feet (122 meters) away, authorities said. Kirk, 31, had been debating students in an outdoor courtyard surrounded by tall buildings and with several thousand people in attendance.

Earlier this month, Kirk’s family sent a wrongful death notice — a precursor to a lawsuit — to Utah officials claiming Utah Valley University officials had made a string of “reckless” decisions that resulted in Kirk’s death by leaving him vulnerable to the rooftop sniper.

According to the report released Friday, a Turning Point representative insisted at an August 2025 planning meeting that Kirk speak at a courtyard on campus because he had been there previously and the organization was familiar with the location. Some university officials expressed reservations about holding the event in an outdoor space with tall buildings around, but ultimately allowed the event to proceed.

“In our assessment, those decisions were consequential,” the report said.

The outdoor location “created significant protective operations considerations,” the report said, but the planning process failed to include a documented line-of-sight assessment, pre-event briefing or walk-through with security stakeholders. Nor was there clear coordination with the speaker’s private security team and external law enforcement partners, the report said.

Utah resident Tyler Robinson turned himself in to authorities a day after the shooting. Prosecutors say he told his romantic partner that he “had enough of his (Kirk’s) hatred.” Robinson has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder, a charge that could make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted. A judge on Sept. 1 ordered the case to proceed toward trial. A date has not yet been set.

An Associated Press review showed the campus in Orem did not use several public safety practices that have become standard at events around the country. Campus police staffing was far below recommended levels for a school of that size. They also did not fly a drone to monitor rooftops or coordinate with local law enforcement to secure the event attended by about 3,000 people. There were no bag checks or metal detectors.