Kirk family puts UVU on notice they intend to sue

OREM — The family of Charlie Kirk has put Utah Valley University and the state of Utah on notice that they intend to sue.

The Charlie Kirk estate and its heirs, including Erika Kirk and her two children, as well as "prospective plaintiffs" that include Charlie Kirk's parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, have filed a notice of claim against UVU, the UVU Police Department, police Chief Jeffrey Long, former UVU President Astrid Tuminez and the state of Utah.

The notice states that the Kirk family intends to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the defendants whose "negligence" and "failures ... led to the assassination" of Charlie Kirk.

Kirk was shot and killed on the campus at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025, during a Turning Point USA rally. Tyler Robinson, the alleged sniper, is charged with aggravated murder and was recently bound over to stand trial. If convicted, prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty.

Kirk was speaking in the Fountain Courtyard when Robinson allegedly shot him from the roof of the nearby Losee Center.

"Placing a politically controversial figure like Charlie Kirk in an outdoor event in the quad surrounded by tall buildings and other elevated observation platforms is accurately described as walking him into a fishbowl," the notice of claim states.

The Kirk family and their lawyers note that Charlie Kirk "was a once-in-a-lifetime public and political figure" who "faced frequent death threats." Those threats were well known even before Kirk arrived at UVU.

Despite that, the notice of claim contends that "through a series of stunning failures and reckless decisions, the UVU parties created a foreseeable danger to Charlie. Those decisions ultimately rendered Mr. Kirk helpless to the rooftop shooter in an assassination that could have been avoided."

The notice states that Utah Valley University and its police department failed to conduct a meaningful risk assessment or take proper steps to oversee a safe event or even write up a security plan for Kirk's "The American Comeback Tour." Only six police officers were assigned to work the event, Tuminez denied a request to add more officers and UVU failed to ask for assistance from other agencies such as the Orem and Provo police departments, the notice states.

"Indeed, the UVU parties' planning was so deficient that when Mr. Kirk was shot first responders were not available and Mr. Kirk was transported to Timpanogos Regional Hospital in a private vehicle, not an ambulance," the notice continues.

Furthermore, the Kirk family contends that surveillance cameras were not monitored in real time and drones were not used for rooftop security. At Robinson's preliminary hearing, prosecutors presented campus security video that "showed the shooter running across the roof of the Losee Building to a 'sniper's nest.' If such footage had been monitored in real-time, Kirk's tragic death could have been avoided," according to the notice.

Turning Point USA staff members had even passed along concerns from students to UVU police about the risk rooftop access posed to Kirk.

"Specifically, TPUSA texted, 'Hello Chief Long – we received this message today from the student group…. 'there is student roof access pretty close to where (Charlie Kirk) will be set up at Utah Valley,'" the notice of claim states. "The risk of a rooftop shooter should have been especially top-of-mind given the attempted assassination of President Trump, Charlie Kirk's close friend and political ally, by a rooftop shooter the previous year."

"(Kirk's) murder was entirely preventable and, in fact, would not have happened had the state of Utah and UVU followed through on their stated security promises, which included protecting the rooftops surrounding the quad where Charlie was speaking. Those failures not only robbed Charlie Kirk of his life, but also robbed his family of their husband, father, son, and brother, with impacts that will compound for the rest of their lives," Kirk family attorney Brett Parkinson said in a prepared statement. "This claim preserves the right of Charlie Kirk's family to pursue accountability for Charlie's death."

The notice of claim does not state an amount that the Kirk family may seek in their lawsuit. Lawsuits are typically filed 90 days after a notice of claim is made.

UVU released a brief statement Wednesday, stating, "We are aware of the notice of claim. UVU addresses legal matters consistent with our established processes. Our focus remains on supporting our campus community."

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