Notice alleges UVU failed to act on Turning Point USA rooftop-access warning
A wrongful-death and survivor claims notice filed by the family of political activist Charlie Kirk cites recent attacks on political figures as context for the September 2025 campus shooting that killed him, according to United Press International.
The notice lists three incidents as examples of political violence: the 2024 attempted assassination of President Donald Trump by a rooftop shooter; the 2025 killing of a Minnesota state legislator and her husband in their home; and the 2022 attack on Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s husband in their home. It places Kirk’s killing within that broader pattern.
“Through a series of stunning failures and reckless decisions, the UVU Parties created a foreseeable danger to Charlie,” the notice alleges. “Those decisions ultimately rendered Mr. Kirk helpless to the rooftop shooter in an assassination that could have been avoided had the UVU Parties only taken reasonable steps to plan and oversee a safe event, steps outlined below that have been standard practice for other universities hosting controversial speakers.”
The notice alleges that Turning Point USA’s UVU chapter alerted UVU police about the potential for students to access roofs in advance of the event. According to the notice, when a TPUSA official wrote to UVU Police Chief Jeffrey Long that “if this is true, it would be nice to either have it controlled access or allow one of my guys to be there as well. If Possible,” Long replied, “I got you covered.” That exchange, the notice states, “led TPUSA to reasonably conclude that UVU had a plan to address the identified risk and other similar risks (most obviously the risk from other rooftops) without TPUSA involvement.”
“The risk of a rooftop shooter should have been especially top-of-mind given the attempted assassination of President [Donald] Trump, Charlie Kirk’s close friend and political ally, by a rooftop shooter the previous year,” the notice adds.
The notice further alleges UVU did not conduct a “meaningful risk assessment” before approving the outdoor location, and that six campus police officers assigned to the event were insufficient. It cites surveillance footage it says shows alleged shooter Tyler Robinson on the roof of the Losee Center for Student Success and running to what a police officer called a “sniper’s pad.” “If such footage had been monitored in real-time, Kirk’s tragic death could have been avoided,” the notice states.
Kirk, who founded and led the conservative student organization Turning Point USA, was shot in the neck and died on September 10, 2025, while speaking on UVU’s Orem, Utah, campus, UPI reported. The shooter fired from the rooftop of a building about 400 feet from where Kirk stood, with about 3,000 people in attendance. The event was the first stop on a nationwide college-campus tour titled “The American Comeback Tour,” UPI reported.
The notice, dated September 9, was sent to the Utah Office of the Attorney General to preserve the family’s statute of limitations for filing suit, according to UPI. The prospective plaintiffs are the Kirk estate, his wife, Erika Kirk, and their two young children. The prospective defendants are Utah Valley University, the state of Utah, the UVU Police Department, Long, former UVU President Astrid Tuminez, and possibly others.
After the killing, UVU announced it would conduct a comprehensive, independent review of the shooting. In a statement, Tuminez said the school believes “the findings of the comprehensive, third-party, independent review of this targeted act of violence will offer valuable insights on how college campuses improve response and preparedness moving forward,” and that UVU would “integrate the findings into our efforts to strengthen and improve safety practices for UVU and all of Utah higher education.”