Sept. 16 (UPI) — The family of political activist Charlie Kirk filed a notice that it intends to sue Utah Valley University for a “series of stunning failures and reckless decisions” that led to his death on campus last year.
The notice of wrongful death and survivor claims sent to the Utah Office of the Attorney General is dated Sept. 9. It preserves the family’s statute of limitations for filing the suit.
“Through a series of stunning failures and reckless decisions, the UVU Parties created a foreseeable danger to Charlie,” the notice alleged. “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.”
It cited recent high-profile incidents as examples of political violence, such as the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump by a rooftop shooter in 2024, the killing of a Minnesota state legislator and her husband in their home in 2025, and the attack on Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s husband in their home in 2022.
Kirk, who founded and led the conservative student organization Turning Point USA, was shot in the neck and died on Sept. 10, 2025, while speaking on the Orem, Utah, campus. The shooter fired from the rooftop of a building about 400 feet away from Kirk. About 3,000 people were in attendance.
UVU was the first stop on a nationwide tour of college campuses, titled The American Comeback Tour.
Turning Point USA’s UVU chapter tipped off campus police about the potential for students to access roofs, the notice said.
“When a TPUSA official informed [UVU Police] Chief [Jeffrey] Long of the concern and asked ‘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.’ Chief Long responded by saying, ‘I got you covered,'” the notice alleged. “This 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 stated.
The notice also alleges that UVU didn’t conduct a “meaningful risk assessment” before allowing the outdoor location to be used. There were six campus police officers assigned to the event, which the notice alleges weren’t enough.
It also mentioned surveillance footage that 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 said.
The notice said the prospective defendants in the claim are expected to be Utah Valley University; the state of Utah; the Utah Valley University Police Department; Long; Astrid Tuminez, UVU’s president at the time; and possibly others.
The prospective plaintiffs in the claims include the Kirk estate, his wife, Erika Kirk, and their two young children, according to the notice.
After the assassination, UVU announced it would do a comprehensive, independent review of the shooting.
“We believe 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,” Tuminez said in a statement. “We will integrate the findings into our efforts to strengthen and improve safety practices for UVU and all of Utah higher education.”
Source: U.S. News
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