UVU campus, where Charlie Kirk was shot dead, had security lapses - No drones, less police: Report

In the 1990s, UVU had less than 9,000 students, and this year, the university has around 48,000 students.

Utah Valley University, where right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk was shot dead while he was participating in an event on September 10, had some security lapses which are considered standard for events around the United States, according to a review by the Associated Press.

Charlie Kirk was assassinated at the Utah Valley University campus on September 10 when he was participating at an event and interacting with the crowd. (AP)

Kirk was assassinated on September 10 after a gunman took a shot at him from the rooftop of a nearby building, following which, the latter was able to escape. The suspect was arrested later only when he was turned in by his family.

“Absolutely there were security failures; it left him exposed. It was egregious enough that someone was able to take advantage and kill him,” AP quoted Greg Shaffer as saying. Shaffer oversaw Charlie Kirk’s security from 2015 to 2022.

Security lapses at UVU where Charlie Kirk was assassinated:

No drones to monitor rooftops: Even though the weather was clear on the day Charlie Kirk was attending the event at the UVU, however, no drones were deployed to monitor the rooftops. According to security officers, rooftop sniper attacks were a clear threat, more so after an assassination attempt at US President Donald Trump during his presidential campaign last year in Pennsylvania, when a person fired shots from a rooftop. While Trump managed to dodge the bullet with injuries, it hit other people present at the rally, killing one and wounding two people.

Inadequate police force: UVU has a vast campus, with 48,000 students enrolled with it. Out of them, 16,000 are in high school and don’t attend classes on campuses, UVU president Astrid Tuminez told AP. With only 23 cops on the campus, the ratio becomes one cop for every 1,400 students, according to a 2024 university report. The ratio is far away from an average public university, where there is around one cop for every 500 students, according to a 2024 study by the US Department of Justice. During the event when the assassination happened, there were only six campus cops present apart from Kirk’s personal security, said campus police Chief Jeffrey Long.

Campus safety resources and school growth are not proportionate: In the 1990s, UVU had less than 9,000 students, and this year, the university has around 48,000 students. While the school has seen growth, the safety resources on the campus did not catch up, AP report cited two former campus public safety leaders as saying on condition of anonymity. According to them, Val Peterson, who oversees the university’s public safety, had rejected requests of hiring more cops on campus and that he believed the campus was safe. When Peterson has been reached out to by AP for a comment, he has not responded yet.

Emergency response system not up to the mark: There was no fire marshal at the UVU campus when the shooting happened to help plan for safety for such a large event. According to the AP report, two of three emergency radio channels of the university did not meet state standards for signal strength in 2023.