Utah Valley University (UVU) has responded to a records request from the Daily Caller News Foundation regarding the shooting of Charlie Kirk, but the information released was heavily redacted and incomplete. The documents shed little light on the circumstances surrounding Kirk’s death and the security failures that occurred under Police Chief Jeff Long’s command.
At the time of Kirk’s Turning Point USA event, only six campus police officers were present to oversee roughly 3,000 attendees. The lack of sufficient security measures, like ticketed entries and metal detectors, drew criticism, with state Rep. Ryan Wilcox calling the situation a “complete disaster.” In the aftermath of the shooting, the university announced a review of its security protocols.
The records obtained included fragments of communications involving unidentified individuals, seemingly university employees, both before and after Kirk’s death on September 10. One email discussed the approval for Kirk to use amplified audio on campus, while another hinted at contacting him the day before the incident.
Details from a September 9 email suggested reaching out to Kirk, including a phone number in the message. Meanwhile, during the event, a 22-year-old gunman named Tyler Robinson concealed a rifle in his pants and shot Kirk from the rooftop of the Rothesay Center before fleeing. Robinson’s family recognized him from an FBI photo and ultimately persuaded him to surrender after a lengthy investigation. Reports indicated that Robinson had expressed negative views about Kirk’s political beliefs after beginning a relationship with a transgender roommate.
The university justified its lack of transparency by citing potential threats to public safety and legal privacy concerns. They mentioned that revealing all requested documents could endanger individuals’ lives or interfere with ongoing legal processes. UVU acknowledged they had additional records but declined to release them, and also partially redacted photos related to campus changes that occurred after the incident.
This isn’t the first instance of UVU withholding information about the tragic shooting; they previously denied records requests from local media regarding security plans for the event. Brian Harpole, Kirk’s head of private security, expressed frustration that certain safety issues raised prior to the event had not been adequately addressed. He mentioned that students had unrestricted access to rooftops at UVU, where the gunman fired from.
Harpole recounted that the police chief had suggested securing the rooftop but remarked on the lack of follow-up communication. UVU police have openly recognized their failure to protect Kirk during the tragic event. The police chief later remarked on the unpredictability of such situations, acknowledging that despite training, incidents like this can unfortunately occur.
