Security review finds UVU unprepared for Kirk shooting, 19-minute alert delay

Report details six contradictory emergency alerts over one hour

The security review, which UVU commissioned, examined procedures at the Orem, Utah campus where Kirk, 31, was fatally shot last September during the first stop of a planned college speaking tour. Prosecutors say accused shooter Tyler Robinson, 23, fired from a rooftop; Robinson potentially faces the death penalty on an aggravated murder charge.

The report found that Turning Point USA, Kirk’s organization, retained control over ticketing through its Phoenix headquarters. The UVU campus chapter told event planners that roughly 600 attendees were anticipated, according to court documents, while actual attendance was “several thousand.” “Allowing the outside organizer to retain control over ticketing limited UVU’s ability to obtain reliable attendance projections, monitor crowd-growth expectations and align staffing and security resources with anticipated attendance,” the report said.

Kirk’s organization also insisted on holding the event in UVU’s Fountain Courtyard despite university concerns about controlling access to the area, the review found.

UVU’s police force numbers 13 sworn officers, but only six were working when Kirk was shot, according to the review. Police Chief Jeffrey Long arrived with two officers and, alarmed by the crowd, enlisted three more, bringing the total to six. The review concluded that a university the size of UVU requires more than 13 sworn staff.

University police and Kirk’s security detail should have assessed sniper vantage points, the review found, but a planned joint walk-through of the venue never took place.

The response after the shooting was also marked by delays and contradictory messages. It took 19 minutes from the time the fatal shot was fired for campus officials to send the first active shooter alert. Confusion over the suspect’s status and internal debate about the appropriate communication response contributed to the delay, the report said.

In six emergency alerts issued over roughly an hour, officials told students and employees that a suspect was in custody, to leave campus immediately, to “secure in place” and to disregard a previous directive. The student body president described the alerts as “delayed and inconsistent,” according to the review.

UVU President Jon Anderson said in a statement that the university’s responsibility is “to care for our community, learn from the findings of this review, and follow through on its recommendations.” The university has created a new chief public safety officer position to oversee campus police, emergency management and event security, and plans to fill the role this year.

Lawyers for Erika Kirk, Kirk’s widow, filed notice this month that they may sue the university and the state over the security gaps. An attorney for the Kirk family said Friday the university “assumed responsibility for the safety of all in attendance, including Charlie.”