Utah Valley University lacked a comprehensive security strategy and did not consistently follow its own major-event protocols when Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated on campus, according to an independent investigation released Friday.
The 158-page review examined the September 10, 2025, shooting and concluded that no university employee acted “in bad faith or in willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others.”
Even so, investigators highlighted a series of decisions that raised concerns and “warrant attention as UVU considers how to strengthen the safety and security of campus events in the future.”
The report said Kirk’s appearance required a more formal security-planning process because he was a nationally known speaker, protests were expected, attendance was difficult to predict and the outdoor venue was located near “elevated vantage points.”
Although university administrators, the Utah Valley University Police Department, event staff and TPUSA representatives held some discussions, investigators found that the event proceeded without a comprehensive written security assessment or formal event action plan.
The courtyard was bordered by buildings, elevated spaces, walkways and several possible observation points. That layout made it especially important to evaluate sightlines and elevated positions, control access to nearby buildings, plan crowd movement and arrivals, manage potential protests and establish fixed security posts, the report said.
University personnel identified and addressed some security concerns, but the planning process omitted several key safeguards. Those included a line-of-sight review, protective operations planning, a pre-event briefing and a coordinated walk-through involving all major security partners.
Investigators also found no clearly defined system for coordinating with Kirk’s private security detail or outside law enforcement agencies.
The initial security plan assigned only three university law enforcement officers to an event attended by several thousand people.
That deployment grew to six officers after the university’s policy chief saw how large the crowd had become, according to the review.
The investigation further determined that UVU left important choices—including the event’s location—to TPUSA representatives.
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During an August 2025 meeting, university officials voiced concerns about staging the appearance outdoors and proposed several alternative venues to TPUSA staff.
A TPUSA representative nevertheless pushed for the campus courtyard, saying Kirk had appeared there before and that the organization already knew how to use the space.
TPUSA also chose to handle event ticketing independently instead of using the university’s system. As a result, school officials lacked a reliable count of how many attendees to expect.
“In our assessment, those decisions were consequential,” investigators wrote.
The report said the university’s approach was “significantly inconsistent” with its established policies for major events.
TPUSA and members of Kirk’s security team did not take part in the independent review, according to the report.
Earlier this month, Kirk’s family sent UVU a wrongful-death notice, signaling that a lawsuit against the university could follow.
The notice accused the school of making “reckless decisions,” including failing to have emergency medical responders present—an omission the family alleges accelerated Kirk’s death.
“The buck stopped with UVU leadership and law enforcement,” family attorney Brett Parkinson said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press. “Justice for Charlie and his family requires true accountability for UVU’s fatal shortcomings that day.”
Utah Valley President Jon Anderson said in a statement that the school has a responsibility to “learn from the findings of this review, and follow through on its recommendations.”
He added that the university has made “meaningful progress in strengthening campus safety over the past year.”