The household of Charlie Kirk alleges in a newly obtained discover of declare {that a} “sequence of gorgeous failures and reckless choices” by Utah Valley College led to the conservative activist’s on-campus assassination final 12 months.
Kirk, the co-founder of the conservative scholar group Turning Level USA, was fatally shot whereas talking at an out of doors occasion at Utah Valley College in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10, 2025. The gunman fired from the rooftop of a campus constructing as Kirk was talking earlier than a crowd of roughly 3,000 individuals, authorities stated.
Utah Valley College was the primary cease on Turning Level USA’s nationwide tour of faculty campuses, dubbed The American Comeback Tour. The occasion “got here towards a widely known backdrop of threat,” acknowledged an emailed discover of wrongful loss of life and survivor claims from the Kirk household’s counsel dated Sept. 9 and addressed to the Utah Workplace of the Lawyer Basic.
Charlie Kirk throws hats to the group at Utah Valley College, earlier than being shot, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah.
Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune through Getty Photos, FILE
The discover, which preserves the household’s statute of limitations in order that they will convey a lawsuit over Kirk’s loss of life, cited high-profile incidents as latest examples of political violence — together with the tried assassination of President Donald Trump by a rooftop sniper at a 2024 marketing campaign rally, the 2025 homicide of a Minnesota state legislator and her husband at their house and the 2022 hammer assault towards Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s husband.
“By a sequence of gorgeous failures and reckless choices, the UVU Events created a foreseeable hazard to Charlie,” the discover, which ABC Information obtained by way of the Kirk household’s counsel, alleged. “These choices in the end rendered Mr. Kirk helpless to the rooftop shooter in an assassination that might have been prevented had the UVU Events solely taken affordable steps to plan and oversee a protected occasion, steps outlined under which have been customary apply for different universities internet hosting controversial audio system.”
The discover alleges that the college didn’t conduct a “significant threat evaluation” earlier than approving the outside location and didn’t dedicate sufficient safety sources. Six campus cops had been assigned to the occasion, college police have stated.
The discover additional alleges that the college didn’t take steps that might have prevented Kirk’s loss of life, akin to monitoring the occasion in actual time. The discover cited surveillance footage proven throughout a preliminary hearing within the prison prosecution of the alleged shooter, Tyler Robinson, that confirmed a person working throughout the roof of the Losee Middle for Pupil Success to what one police officer referred to as a “sniper’s pad.”
“If such footage had been monitored in real-time, Kirk’s tragic loss of life might have been prevented,” the discover alleged.
The discover alleged that the college ignored a tip it stated Turning Level USA handed alongside concerning the danger of rooftop entry on the campus forward of the occasion. The scholar group allegedly texted the Utah Valley College campus police division chief, Jeffrey Lengthy, that “there may be scholar roof entry fairly near the place [Charlie Kirk] can be arrange at Utah Valley,” in line with the discover, which cited the campus’ Sorensen Pupil Middle.
FBI workers examine the world of the campus of Utah Valley College the day after the taking pictures of Charlie Kirk on the faculty, on Sept. 11, 2025, in Orem, Utah.
Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Photos, FILE
“When a TPUSA official knowledgeable Chief Lengthy of the priority and requested ‘if that is true, it will be good to both have it managed entry or enable one in every of my guys to be there as effectively. If Doable.’ Chief Lengthy responded by saying, ‘I bought you lined,'” the discover alleged. “This led TPUSA to moderately conclude that UVU had a plan to deal with the recognized threat and different related dangers (most clearly the danger from different rooftops) with out TPUSA involvement.”
The shooter fired from the roof of the Losee Middle, roughly 415 toes from the place Kirk was talking, in line with prosecutors within the prison case.
“The danger of a rooftop shooter ought to have been particularly top-of-mind given the tried assassination of President Trump, Charlie Kirk’s shut buddy and political ally, by a rooftop shooter the earlier 12 months,” the discover acknowledged.
The discover acknowledged that the possible defendants within the declare are anticipated to be the Utah Valley College; the State of Utah; the Utah Valley College Police Division; Chief Lengthy; Astrid Tuminez, who was UVU’s president on the time of the assassination; and presumably others.
ABC Information can be reaching out to the events for remark.
Erika Kirk speaks after President Donald Trump posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk within the Rose Backyard of the White Home, Oct. 14, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Alex Brandon/AP, FILE
The possible plaintiffs within the claims embrace the Kirk property, his spouse, Erika Kirk, and their two younger youngsters, in line with the discover.
“Charlie Kirk was violently and publicly assassinated whereas talking at an occasion at Utah Valley College (UVU). His homicide was fully preventable and, in truth, wouldn’t have occurred had the State of Utah and UVU adopted by way of on their acknowledged safety guarantees, which included defending the rooftops surrounding the quad the place Charlie was talking,” Brett Parkinson, counsel for the Kirk household, stated in a press release to ABC Information. “These failures not solely robbed Charlie Kirk of his life, but in addition robbed his household of their husband, father, son, and brother, with impacts that can compound for the remainder of their lives. Justice and accountability below the legislation are key tenets of the American judicial system. This declare preserves the precise of Charlie Kirk’s household to pursue accountability for Charlie’s loss of life.”
Within the wake of the taking pictures, Chief Lengthy stated he labored with Kirk’s personal safety workforce to ascertain safety protocols for the occasion.
“We labored collectively. He has his workforce and so they do that everywhere in the nation. Everyone knows that. It is not unusual for them. They’re very snug on campuses. And I used to be coordinating along with his lead safety man,” Lengthy stated throughout a press briefing on Sept. 10, 2025.
Lengthy stated six campus cops had been working the occasion, together with some in plainclothes who had been monitoring the group.
“We practice for these items, and also you assume you’ve issues lined, and these items, sadly, they occur,” Lengthy stated. “You attempt to get your bases lined and, sadly, at present we did not. Due to that, we’ve got this tragic incident.”
On the time, a college spokesperson told ABC News that they had been unable to reply particular questions concerning the safety plan for the occasion.
The college spokesperson directed ABC Information to a web page on the college’s web site answering some often requested questions concerning the Charlie Kirk occasion. Underneath the query “What safety measures had been taken?” the web site acknowledged, “Kirk’s lead safety workers coordinated with UVU Police Chief Jeff Lengthy concerning the safety measures.”
The web site web page additionally stated that Kirk had beforehand visited the college with Turning Level USA in 2019.
Following the assassination, UVU announced it will provoke a complete unbiased assessment of the taking pictures.
“We imagine the findings of the excellent, third-party unbiased assessment of this focused act of violence will supply helpful insights on how faculty campuses enhance response and preparedness transferring ahead,” Tuminez stated in a press release on Sept. 22, 2025. “We are going to combine the findings into our efforts to strengthen and enhance security practices for UVU and all of Utah larger training.”
