A series of security breakdowns and disputed decisions left Charlie Kirk vulnerable to the rooftop sniper who killed him during a crowded appearance at a Utah university, according to a damning new report.
Utah Valley University did not conduct a formal security assessment, prepare a written action plan or fully address the potentially lethal threat from nearby rooftops before Kirk appeared in an outdoor courtyard packed with thousands of people on September 10, 2025.
University officials had voiced concerns about staging the high-profile conservative activist’s event outdoors. However, his organization, Turning Point USA, pushed to use the courtyard because Kirk had appeared there before and his team was familiar with the site.
The findings were detailed in an independent after-action review released Friday, which examined the event’s planning and the university’s response to the assassination.
Kirk, 31, was debating students in front of a crowd of roughly 3,000 people when a sniper opened fire from a rooftop more than 400 feet away.
The review describes serious shortcomings in the preparations before the shooting, including an inadequate assessment of nearby buildings, limited coordination with outside law enforcement agencies and no clearly assigned authority for key security decisions.
Investigators found that the university neither completed a formal security assessment nor produced a written action plan for the event.
Instead, officials left several crucial security decisions to Turning Point USA, according to the report.
A damning new report details a series of security failures before Charlie Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University
Officials did not formally assess the risks of holding the event outdoors, despite concerns about the tall buildings surrounding the venue
Earlier this month, Kirk’s family sent Utah officials a wrongful death notice, a step that can precede a lawsuit. The family accused Utah Valley University officials of making a series of “reckless” decisions that left Kirk exposed to the rooftop sniper.
At a planning meeting in August 2025, a Turning Point representative reportedly insisted that Kirk speak in the campus courtyard because he had previously appeared there and the organization knew the location well, Friday’s report said.
Some university officials questioned whether the event should take place outdoors, surrounded by tall buildings. They ultimately permitted the gathering to go ahead.
“In our assessment, those decisions were consequential,” the report said.
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The outdoor venue “created significant protective operations considerations,” investigators wrote. Yet the planning process included no documented line-of-sight review, pre-event security briefing or walk-through involving the relevant security personnel.
The report also found no clear coordination process linking Kirk’s private security team with outside law enforcement partners.
“Dan Flood, TPUSA Security Supervisor, texted Chief Long advising that TPUSA security personnel had arrived on campus,” the report stated.
“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.”
Tyler Robinson has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder, a charge that could make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted
Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, continues to mourn her husband as the family pursues legal action over the security failures surrounding his assassination
Utah resident Tyler Robinson turned himself in to authorities a day after the shooting.
Prosecutors say he told his romantic partner that he ‘had enough of his (Kirk’s) hatred.’
Robinson has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder, a charge that could make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
A judge on September 1 ordered the case to proceed toward trial. A date has not yet been set.
A review by the Associated Press showed the campus in Orem did not use several public safety practices that have become standard at events around the country.
Campus police staffing was far below recommended levels for a school of that size.
They also did not fly a drone to monitor rooftops or coordinate with local law enforcement to secure the event attended by about 3,000 people. There were also no bag checks or metal detectors.
