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An independent review commissioned after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has identified a series of security failures at Utah Valley University, where the 31-year-old was shot dead from a rooftop overlooking a packed courtyard in Orem, Utah, on 10 September 2025. The after-action report, published by the university, portrays an event that unfolded without the formal risk planning, documentation or joint preparation that organisers of a gathering of that size would be expected to produce.
Among the most significant findings, the external consultants concluded that the university neither carried out a proper written security assessment nor prepared an event action plan for the appearance. Instead, the review says, key decision-making about how the event would be run and secured was deferred to Kirk's conservative organisation, Turning Point USA — a division of responsibility that left unclear who was actually in charge on the day.
The dispute over the location of the event appears to have been central to those shortcomings. University officials raised concerns in August 2025, roughly a month before the speaking engagement, about holding it at a campus location surrounded by tall buildings, and suggested alternative venues, including options indoors. But, the report states, a Turning Point representative insisted that Kirk speak in the campus courtyard because he had appeared there previously and the organisation was familiar with the site. Kirk's aides pressed for an outdoor venue, overriding the security concerns raised by campus officials — who, in turn, then failed to properly assess the dangers to which they had themselves drawn attention.
The reviewers were particularly pointed about the absence of any documented line-of-sight assessment during the planning process. Despite what the report describes as "significant protective operations considerations", nobody appears to have formally examined, and recorded, what could be seen from the surrounding buildings — a question that proved decisive on the day, when Kirk was shot from a nearby rooftop shortly after midday.
Coordination between the two security operations was also criticised. The review identified shortcomings in how university police worked alongside Kirk's private security team, and noted that a proposed meeting between the university's police chief and Turning Point security, arranged shortly before the event, never took place. The consultants described the missing joint security briefing and site walk-through as a missed opportunity: a chance to identify risks in advance, clarify who was responsible for what, and weigh additional protective measures before a crowd of roughly 3,000 assembled.
That gathering, an outdoor debate with UVU students about US mass shootings, was one of a series of appearances by Kirk at university campuses. He was addressing the crowd in the courtyard when he was shot in the neck and rushed to hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The report also points to security steps that campus police did not take, including procedures now common at high-profile events: flying a drone to monitor surrounding rooftops, and screening attendees with bag checks and metal detectors.
The review stopped short of assigning personal blame, concluding that no university employee or representative had acted in bad faith or shown "willful and wanton disregard" for anyone's safety. That finding is likely to shape the response of the university and its insurers, but it did not soften the criticism from Kirk's family, who had previously accused the institution of serious security failures. The family has filed a wrongful-death notice — a step that can precede legal action — and said the report reinforced concerns about how the event was managed.
Brett Parkinson, the family's lawyer, said the independent report released on Friday backed up the concerns raised by those close to Kirk. "The buck stopped with UVU leadership and law enforcement," he said in a statement to the Associated Press, adding: "Justice for Charlie and his family requires true accountability for UVU's fatal shortcomings that day." Asked to comment on the findings, Turning Point USA referred to the same statement.
University President Jon Anderson said the institution must "learn from the findings of this review, and follow through on its recommendations", which include a range of proposals aimed at strengthening security for major campus events. How quickly and thoroughly those recommendations are implemented is likely to be watched closely, given that the report was commissioned in the wake of a killing that has become a focal point of the national debate about political violence and security at public universities.
The review's examination of a shared-venue model — a university campus hosting an outside speaker under the branding of a national political organisation — carries implications beyond Utah. Campuses that welcome external speakers are typically responsible for the safety of everyone on their property, regardless of who controls the programme, and the report's description of decision-making handed over to organisers raises questions about where institutional accountability begins and ends when such arrangements are struck.
Meanwhile, the criminal case remains at the centre of proceedings. Tyler Robinson, the alleged killer, has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder in connection with Kirk's death, and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. The review's conclusions do not alter that process, but they may inform both the wider public accounting of how the shooting happened and any civil action the family brings against the university.
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