Independent review of UVU and Charlie Kirk shooting finds ways security could be better

OREM — Utah Valley University did not "act in bad faith" on the day Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on campus, according to an independent review released Friday.

However, the review of the events of Sept. 10, 2025, also identified multiple areas that could use improvement for future high-profile campus events.

On that day, conservative political activist Charlie Kirk was shot moments after he began speaking at his Turning Point USA event in the Fountain Courtyard. Tyler Robinson is accused of shooting Kirk from the roof of the nearby Losee Center. He was recently bound over to stand trial on all charges against him, including aggravated murder. Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty if he is convicted. At his next scheduled hearing on Oct. 23, 4th District Judge Tony Graf hopes to schedule trial dates.

Following the shooting, the university commissioned an external independent review, consisting of legal and law enforcement experts, to look at the school's planning, preparedness, decision-making, operational response and post-incident actions.

According to the final report, the "Project Team" conducted more than 70 interviews for their report. The team also examined thousands of pages of university policies, training materials, operational records and communication records.

"It is the opinion of the Project Team, based on our review of all available information, that at no time during the events leading up to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, or in its aftermath, did any employee or agent of UVU act in bad faith or in willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others," the report states.

But despite having a "substantial foundation of policies, plans, committees, reporting pathways, emergency procedures, and public safety resources," the report found that those established policies "were not always implemented in a consistent, documented or operationally integrated manner."

"The primary gap involved the translation of existing policies, structures and capabilities into disciplined, repeatable and documented practice for a controversial speaker and high-profile event involving elevated security considerations. This distinction is important," according to the report. "Several key event-security decisions were deferred to the Turning Point USA field representative even though UVU staff members raised concerns, including holding the event in the outdoor Fountain Courtyard area."

The report found that UVU "should have retained decision-making authority over key security-related issues, including venue selection."

A timeline of events in the report states that UVU representatives met with a field representative from Turning Point USA on Aug. 25.

"UVU participants raised concerns about the outdoor courtyard location, anticipated attendance, protest activity, crowd management, and the ability to control access. TPUSA requested the event remain in the Fountain Courtyard despite concerns and suggestions to consider alternative venues," the report states.

In addition, the report determined that outside resources from neighboring law enforcement and fire department agencies were available, "but those resources were not fully integrated into pre-event planning."

UVU also had surveillance cameras and other security technology already in place that day, but the technology "was used more effectively as a post-incident investigative resource than as a real-time situational awareness tool," the review says.

"UVU's future planning should include video analytics configured to detect human activity on rooftops or in restricted areas," the report continues. "Additional law enforcement support, equipment, or technical resources such as drone or aerial observation capability should have been considered or requested."

The report also suggests that a face-to-face briefing between UVU's police chief and security for Turning Point USA should have happened, as well as a pre-event walkthrough of the venue.

"Emergency communications were among the most visible challenges," the report stated.

The Project Team says that "despite repeated outreach attempts," key supervisors and members of the Turning Point USA security team did not participate in interviews for the report.

Earlier this month, the family of Charlie Kirk put Utah Valley University on notice that they intend to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the university whose "negligence" and "failures ... led to the assassination" of Kirk.

"(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," Kirk family attorney Brett Parkinson said in a prepared statement.

The university says since the shooting, it has created a Chief Public Safety Officer position to coordinate campus police, emergency management, fire safety, and campus and event security, as well as improved training and coordination with other law enforcement agencies.

"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. This requires humility, an honest examination of our policies and practices, and a commitment to act on what we learn," UVU President Jon Anderson said in a prepared statement. "It was reassuring to see that several recommendations from the external report align with changes already completed or underway, and this review will help guide the work ahead."

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