Utah Valley University has published a 158-page independent review examining the circumstances surrounding the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on campus last year. Kirk was shot and killed during a public speaking event in the university’s central courtyard.
The Lake Forest Group conducted the review at UVU’s request. Its 10 “key findings” outline security improvements for future events and conclude that no one at the university acted “in bad faith or in willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others.”
Among the report’s findings, reviewers said UVU applied its own policies “significantly inconsistently.” They also determined that security measures were inadequate for a high-profile outdoor event and noted that no one in the university police department had been assigned to monitor campus security cameras.
Charlie Kirk appears at Utah Valley University Sept. 10, 2025 in Orem, Utah. Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was speaking at his “American Comeback Tour” when he was shot in the neck and killed. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
The reviewers further recommended reassessing staffing levels and training requirements in light of the university’s size and the potential risks associated with major events.
The report also highlighted a gap in the systems universities developed to detect and prevent internal threats after the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting. Those safeguards did not apply in Kirk’s case because accused assassin Tyler Robinson had no connection to UVU.
The review includes a timeline of significant developments leading up to Kirk’s appearance at UVU, covering July 10 through Sept. 9, 2025. It identifies several “key decision points” from Aug. 25 through the day Kirk was killed, Sept. 10.
The scene after shots were fired at an appearance by Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025 in Orem, Utah. Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was speaking at his “American Comeback Tour” when he was shot in the neck and killed. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
On Aug. 25, UVU officials had raised concerns about their ability to control the outdoor courtyard, yet the location remained scheduled for the event. The event was approved two days later without a documented security assessment plan. Campus police and TPUSA security held their “first direct security coordination” on Sept. 3, one week before the event.
On Sept. 8, TPUSA organizers expressed concern about rooftop access near the area where Kirk was scheduled to speak. According to the report, UVU Police Chief Jeffrey Long texted TPUSA security supervisor Dan Flood, “We got you covered.” The review said Long’s message referred to the Hall of Flags outdoor pedestrian walkway.
Flood arrived on campus with the TPUSA security team on Sept. 10.
Law enforcement tapes off an area after Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was shot at the Utah Valley University, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)
“Dan Flood, TPUSA Security Supervisor, texted Chief Long advising that TPUSA security personnel had arrived on campus,” the report states. “Chief Long engaged in a series of text communications with Flood, to include several regarding individuals located on the Hall of Flags outdoor pedestrian walkway and the Fountain Courtyard area where a canopy would be set up where Kirk would be speaking. These text exchanges revealed the primary security focus for TPUSA was the Hall of Flags outdoor pedestrian walkway above the canopy.”
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That description differs from the Kirk family’s notice of claim against UVU, filed last week, which named the Sorensen Center rooftop—not the Hall of Flags walkway—as the area of concern.
The Hall of Flags walkway was closed during the event, but the review found that TPUSA security personnel never met with university police in person.
Prosecutors allege that Robinson ultimately climbed onto the Losee Center, northeast of the courtyard, and fired the shot that killed Kirk.
The Hall of Flags walkway sits directly above the location where Kirk was speaking. The Sorenson Center is to the north, while the Losee Center is northeast of the courtyard.
A map of the UVU campus shows key locations surrounding the courtyard where Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on Sept. 10, 2025. (After-Action report for Utah Valley University)
Kirk family attorney Brett Parkinson said in a statement to News Outlet Friday that the report supports the family’s position. “This report reaffirms the facts we laid out in our Notice of Claim: that UVU security was woefully understaffed and unprepared to manage the obvious risks associated with an event of this nature,” Parkinson said. “UVU hosted this event, and in doing so, assumed responsibility for the safety of all in attendance, including Charlie.”
The family made a similar allegation last week, saying Chief Jeffrey Long told Turning Point USA organizers, “I got you covered,” after they raised concerns about rooftop access above the courtyard where Kirk was ultimately shot and killed by a sniper.
Sgt. Jennifer Faumuina, of the Utah Department of Public Safety, motions toward a map of the Utah Valley University campus during a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026 (Spenser Heaps/AP via Pool)
“The buck stopped with UVU leadership and law enforcement,” Parkinson said. “Justice for Charlie and his family requires true accountability for UVU’s fatal shortcomings that day.”
A university spokesperson told Fox News that the school has no further comment beyond a statement released on behalf of UVU President Dr. Jon Anderson.
Tyler Robinson, accused of the murder of Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, Thursday, December, 11, 2025. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via Pool)
“September 10 will always be part of UVU’s history, but it will not define our future,” he said. “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.”
