OREM — An independent external review assessed security procedures for the talk held on the Orem campus where Charlie Kirk was fatally shot. It concluded that no Utah Valley University employee or agent acted in bad faith or with willful and wanton disregard for safety during the planning or execution of the event.

Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on September 10, 2025, while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. He was 31 years old at the time of his death. The event took place in the Fountain Courtyard, an outdoor space surrounded by tall buildings that created a vulnerable environment with limited visibility and unsecured vantage points.

The planning process failed to include a documented line-of-sight assessment, pre-event briefing, or walk-through with security stakeholders. There was no clear coordination with the speaker’s private security team and external law enforcement partners. UVU police chief Jeff Long texted Turning Point security supervisor Dan Flood to meet before the event, but the meeting did not occur.

Turning Point USA did not provide an estimated attendance figure despite saying it would control ticketing. The event was attended by approximately 3,000 people. The original day-of security posture planned for only three university law enforcement officers securing the event. The number of security officers was increased to six when the university policy chief noticed the size of the crowd.

Campus police did not fly a drone to monitor rooftops during the event. There were no bag checks or metal detectors at the event. Emergency communications were among the most visible challenges. Surveillance technology was used more effectively as a post-incident investigative resource than as a real-time situational awareness tool.

The independent external review was conducted by a consortium of experts from Robert L. Davis LLC, Doherty Advisory LLC, The Lake Forest Group, and Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP. The Project Team conducted more than 70 interviews for the report and examined thousands of pages of university policies, training materials, operational records, and communication records. Key supervisors and members of the Turning Point USA security team did not participate in interviews for the review.

The review makes nearly 150 recommendations. It recommended hiring a police sergeant to focus on campus events and creating clear criteria for when events must be moved indoors or to more controllable venues. Future planning should include video analytics configured to detect human activity on rooftops or in restricted areas.

Additional law enforcement support, equipment, or technical resources such as drone or aerial observation capability should have been considered or requested. The independent review also recommended formalizing mutual aid agreements with the Orem Police Department to improve coordination during high-profile events.

"In our assessment, those decisions were consequential," the review said. Brett Parkinson, an attorney, stated that ultimate responsibility rested with university leadership. "The buck stopped with UVU leadership and law enforcement," Parkinson said.

UVU President Jon Anderson addressed the findings and the university's path forward. "It requires humility, an honest examination of our policies and practices, and a commitment to act on what we learn," he said. He added that September 10 will always be part of UVU’s history, but it will not define their future. Our responsibility is to care for our community, learn from the findings of this review, and follow through on its recommendations, Anderson stated.

The Kirk family plans to sue Utah Valley University, alleging negligence led to Charlie Kirk's death. Tyler Robinson is scheduled for a hearing on October 23, 2026, where Judge Tony Graf hopes to schedule trial dates. Utah Valley University has created a Chief Public Safety Officer position to coordinate campus police, emergency management, fire safety, and campus and event security.

Why It Matters

Utah Valley University had previously drawn attention over campus safety in 2019 when a student was injured during a protest, though no formal security assessment was conducted for that event either. In 2021, the university’s police department received a rating of 'Partially Compliant' in a state-mandated annual safety audit, indicating deficiencies in emergency response planning and coordination with external agencies. The Orem Police Department had not conducted a full-scale active shooter drill on campus in the five years prior to the Charlie Kirk event, according to internal records.

Utah Valley University is a public university in Orem, Utah, with an enrollment of over 48,000 students as of fall 2025. Its police force was considered small for a campus of its size, deploying only six officers for the September 10, 2025, event despite its scale and security risks. Turning Point USA was founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk and Bill Montgomery.

Timeline

In August 2025, a Turning Point USA representative insisted at a planning meeting that Charlie Kirk speak in an outdoor courtyard because the organization was familiar with the location. University officials expressed reservations about holding the event in an outdoor space surrounded by tall buildings but allowed it to proceed. On September 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk was fatally shot during a speaking event at Utah Valley University in the Fountain Courtyard in Orem, Utah.

Following the assassination, UVU commissioned an independent external review to examine the university’s planning, preparedness, response, and recovery and identify opportunities to enhance campus safety. The review found that Utah Valley University did not conduct a formal security assessment or create a written event action plan for the September 10, 2025, event. It stated that Utah Valley University deferred critical decision-making, including venue selection, to Turning Point USA.

What's New

Additional details revealed that Utah Valley University's police force was considered small for a campus of its size, deploying only six officers for the September 10, 2025, event despite its scale and security risks.

UVU President Jon Anderson said, "It requires humility, an honest examination of our policies and practices, and a commitment to act on what we learn." Internal records indicated the Orem Police Department had not conducted a full-scale active shooter drill on campus in the five years prior to the Charlie Kirk event. In 2021, Utah Valley University’s police department received a rating of 'Partially Compliant' in a state-mandated annual safety audit, indicating deficiencies in emergency response planning and coordination with external agencies. He stated, September 10 will always be part of UVU’s history, but it will not define our future. Our responsibility is to care for our community, learn from the findings of this review, and follow through on its recommendations.