Political commentator Charlie Kirk specifically requested to speak outside before he was fatally shot during his Wednesday appearance on Utah Valley University’s campus, a school spokesperson said.
His team, said UVU spokesperson Ellen Treanor, had relayed that Kirk wanted to be in an outdoor, “central” location on campus so he could engage with students walking by, including those on their way to class or the food court.
“They put the request in for that specific area. They really wanted it in the open courtyard,” Treanor told The Salt Lake Tribune.
There, as Kirk was engaging with the crowd shortly into the event, a single shot rang out from a nearby rooftop and he fell to the ground.
Since then, UVU’s security provisions have come into question, including why the large event was held in such an open location and whether the school’s officers were adequately prepared. The school’s police chief responded to some of those concerns during a state news conference Wednesday.
“You try to get your bases covered and, unfortunately, today we didn’t,” said campus police Chief Jeff Long.
It also wasn’t Kirk’s first visit to the Orem university. He had been there more than six years earlier, for his first ever stop in Utah.
That previous college speaking tour event was held indoors, in the university’s ballroom.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk appears at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) People run after a shot was fired during an appearance by Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
The school’s student newspaper, The UVU Review, covered the March 2019 event, reporting that Kirk’s appearance also drew a crowd — at least in the hundreds, based on photos — and included some clashes with protesters.
Kirk’s outdoor event Wednesday wasn’t the first of late. When he visited the University of Utah in Salt Lake City in April 2024, that was also held outside — in an open pavilion by the campus library, where he similarly situated himself under a tent, answering questions from passersby.
Neither previous appearance, though, had as many attendees as the UVU event Wednesday — where state officials estimate about 3,000 people showed up to hear Kirk speak — according to spokespeople for both schools.
UVU security for Kirk in 2019 versus now
The 2019 event at UVU was run specifically by Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA, which he founded.
Treanor said that appearance was ticketed — unlike Wednesday’s — and that the organization handled that.
She did not immediately detail what campus police staffing looked like at the time, but could confirm officers were present and, “It went off with no incident.”
Wednesday’s event was requested by a student club and had no ticketing restrictions. The university has said it worked with Kirk’s team to develop a security plan.
Kirk’s team had eight private security personnel there. Aubrey Laitsch, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA, confirmed Thursday that was “our regular security we have for him.”
Treanor said UVU staffed the event with eight officers, most of its roughly 15-officer force. Six were in uniform, and two were patrolling the crowd in plain clothes.
Another campus police officer from Utah State University was also there, Treanor noted. Kirk was set to speak at the northern Utah school on Sept. 30; Treanor said the Logan school sent someone to observe how the UVU event was conducted.
She did not immediately know if UVU had coordinated with its nearby partner law enforcement agencies — Orem police and the Utah County Sheriff’s Office — to help staff the event.
Treanor later added: “We have a mutual aid with local law enforcement, and we assume they were aware of the event.”
When asked if holding the event outside made it more difficult to provide police coverage, she responded: “Hindsight is 20/20. It is hard to know.”
Treanor was also at the event and said people had started gathering to see Kirk as early as 9 a.m.
“People were excited,” she said. “It seemed to have a very upbeat, jovial type of atmosphere. Then everything changed so quickly. I will never forget people running for their lives.”
Kirk’s 2024 event at the University of Utah
The U.’s chapter of Turning Point USA invited Kirk to campus for his 2024 visit, held outside the Marriott Library.
The student group later posted about it on their Instagram page, writing, “HUGE TURNOUT FOR THE AMAZING CHARLIE KIRK AT THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH CAMPUS!!!”
They added: “We are so grateful that he was able to come and engage in thoughtful dialogue with disagreers!”
The chapter did not immediately return requests for comment.
The University of Utah had 20 of its officers present at the time, and the Utah Highway Patrol and Salt Lake City Police Department also provided support, said school spokesperson Rebecca Walsh.
“We would note this event followed campus protests about Gaza-Israel and anti-trans speakers,” she added. “We scale our security to the level of threat we’ve assessed in partnership with state and federal law enforcement.”
Kirk’s team also selected the outside venue at the U., Walsh said. The audience was much smaller, though, about 200 people.
She said typically, indoor venues provide “more opportunities for security measures.” That includes tickets and metal detectors.
(University of Utah) Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk spoke at the University of Utah in April 2024.
(University of Utah) Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk spoke at the University of Utah in April 2024.
Other controversial speakers at the U.
In recent years, the U. has had several controversial speakers on campus.
That includes Michael Knowles, a political commentator for The Daily Wire, who also visited in April 2024. That was held inside an auditorium on campus and drew hundreds of protesters. He was invited by the U.’s Young Americans for Freedom chapter, a conservative activist group.
Ben Shapiro, a conservative writer, also came to campus in September 2017. The U. specifically detailed security provisions for that event, which included the school’s roughly 40-member police force patrolling campus, supplemented as needed by officers from Salt Lake City and the Utah Highway Patrol.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Police stand watch outside the building where Ben Shapiro is speaking on the campus of University of Utah, Wednesday, September 27, 2017.
The event was ticketed for 400 to attend. About 300 protested outside.
The building Shapiro spoke in was also secured with barricades, which was specified in Shapiro’s contract requirements. And police officers created a physical separation between groups who supported Shapiro and protesters who didn’t. Two people were arrested that night.
Before it started, the school also sent alerts to campus, letting students, staff and faculty know about the increased police presence and the possibility for conflict.
What was planned at Utah State University
Kirk was scheduled to speak at USU later this month.
Amanda DeRito, a university spokesperson, said the school had been planning for the event as soon as its campus club extended an invitation to Kirk.
DeRito said she couldn’t share specific details on what kind of security the school was planning for safety reasons, but she compared it to other major events, including football games and graduation ceremonies.
USU also collaborates with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies on its event security standards. That includes, DeRito said, “thorough pre-planning and a comprehensive threat assessment, detailed security planning, deployment of a diverse array of security assets, effective crowd management, close protection for the speaker, clear communication and coordination, and readiness for crisis response.”
And the school tests its lockdown and emergency notifications systems “on a regular basis.”
DeRito also confirmed that USU had sent an officer to UVU for the Kirk appearance there “to observe and enhance readiness for its later-scheduled event.”