External Review of Utah Valley University Events Following Charlie Kirk’s Shooting

Mistakes occurred, yet no university employee acted in “bad faith,” according to an external review released by Utah Valley University on Friday. The review outlines the series of events before, during, and after Charlie Kirk’s tragic shooting on September 10, 2025.

‘September 10 will always be part of UVU’s history, but it will not define our future.’

The nearly 160-page report concluded that:

at no point during the lead-up to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, or in its aftermath, did any employee or agent of UVU act in bad faith or with a reckless disregard for the safety of others.

While the report does not explicitly name the suspected shooter, Tyler Robinson, it clearly states that “the alleged perpetrator was unaffiliated with UVU.”

However, it does acknowledge that there was “inconsistency” in the application of UVU’s policies and protocols.

According to the findings, the decision to hold the event at the outdoor Fountain Courtyard was made by Turning Point USA (TPUSA), which also managed its own ticketing system. The report indicates that UVU should have exercised more control over the venue, ticketing, and access.

“Those choices placed the event in a location that was harder to manage and constrained UVU’s ability to gather reliable, real-time data on expected attendance and crowd size,” the report mentioned.

The review recognized that the pre-event planning “did not include a documented line-of-sight assessment” or a “structured walk-through with all key security stakeholders.” Although a meeting was scheduled between UVU Police Chief Jeff Long and TPUSA’s private security team shortly before the incident, it did not take place.

A notice of claim from the Kirk family’s attorneys earlier this month alleged that Chief Long had sought approval from then-UVU President Astrid Tuminez for increased security but was denied. The report did not address this claim.

In the wake of the shooting, an Emergency Operations Center was established, but the report noted that there was considerable “confusion” regarding management responsibilities and the issuance of emergency alerts.

Furthermore, an alert was sent out 19 minutes after Kirk was shot, informing the UVU campus community that a suspect was in custody. However, subsequent investigations revealed the person initially detained was not the shooter, and the actual assailant remained unidentified and at large.

The report suggests that for future high-profile events likely to attract significant protests, UVU needs to adopt a more organized planning process that takes into account venue logistics, expected attendance, the involvement of private security, and the need for “elevated vantage points.”

Neither the UVU Police Department nor UVU provided comments on the report to Blaze News.

UVU President Jon Anderson reflected on the findings, stating, “September 10 will always be part of UVU’s history, but it will not define our future. Our responsibility is to care for our community, learn from the findings of this review, and follow through on its recommendations, which demands humility and an honest evaluation of our practices.”

This story is still developing.

Note: The article has been modified following publication to clarify that the UVU external report did not address the allegation regarding Chief Long’s security request being denied by Astrid Tuminez.