Charlie Kirk's family signals intent to sue, alleging 'stunning failures' led to on-campus assassination

The family of Charlie Kirk alleges in a newly obtained notice of claim that a "series of stunning failures and reckless decisions" by Utah Valley University led to the conservative activist's on-campus assassination last year.

Kirk, the co-founder of the conservative student organization Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10, 2025. The gunman fired from the rooftop of a campus building as Kirk was speaking before a crowd of approximately 3,000 people, authorities said.

Utah Valley University was the first stop on Turning Point USA's nationwide tour of college campuses, dubbed The American Comeback Tour. The event "came against a well-known backdrop of risk," stated an emailed notice of wrongful death and survivor claims from the Kirk family's counsel dated Sept. 9 and addressed to the Utah Office of the Attorney General.

The notice, which preserves the family's statute of limitations so that they can bring a lawsuit over Kirk's death, cited high-profile incidents as recent examples of political violence -- including the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump by a rooftop sniper at a 2024 campaign rally, the 2025 murder of a Minnesota state legislator and her husband at their home and the 2022 hammer attack against Rep. Nancy Pelosi's husband.

"Through a series of stunning failures and reckless decisions, the UVU Parties created a foreseeable danger to Charlie," the notice, which ABC News obtained through the Kirk family's counsel, 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."

The notice alleges that the university failed to conduct a "meaningful risk assessment" before approving the outdoor location and did not dedicate enough security resources. Six campus police officers were assigned to the event, university police have said.

The notice further alleges that the university did not take steps that could have prevented Kirk's death, such as monitoring the event in real time. The notice cited surveillance footage shown during a preliminary hearing in the criminal prosecution of the alleged shooter, Tyler Robinson, that showed an individual running across the roof of the Losee Center for Student Success to what one 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 alleged.

The notice alleged that the university ignored a tip it said Turning Point USA passed along regarding the risk of rooftop access on the campus ahead of the event. The student group allegedly texted the Utah Valley University campus police department chief, Jeffrey Long, that "there is student roof access pretty close to where [Charlie Kirk] will be set up at Utah Valley," according to the notice, which cited the campus' Sorensen Student Center.

"When a TPUSA official informed Chief 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 shooter fired from the roof of the Losee Center, approximately 415 feet from where Kirk was speaking, according to prosecutors in the criminal case.

"The risk of a rooftop shooter should have been especially top-of-mind given the attempted assassination of President Trump, Charlie Kirk's close friend and political ally, by a rooftop shooter the previous year," the notice stated.

The notice stated that the prospective defendants in the claim are expected to be the Utah Valley University; the State of Utah; the Utah Valley University Police Department; Chief Long; Astrid Tuminez, who was UVU's president at the time of the assassination; and possibly others.

ABC News will be reaching out to the parties for comment.

The prospective plaintiffs in the claims include the Kirk estate, his wife, Erika Kirk, and their two young children, according to the notice.

"Charlie Kirk was violently and publicly assassinated while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University (UVU). His murder was entirely preventable and, in fact, would not have happened had the State of Utah and UVU followed through on their stated security promises, which included protecting the rooftops surrounding the quad where Charlie was speaking," Brett Parkinson, counsel for the Kirk family, said in a statement to ABC News. "Those failures not only robbed Charlie Kirk of his life, but also robbed his family of their husband, father, son, and brother, with impacts that will compound for the rest of their lives. Justice and accountability under the law are key tenets of the American judicial system. This claim preserves the right of Charlie Kirk's family to pursue accountability for Charlie's death."

In the wake of the shooting, Chief Long said he worked with Kirk's private security team to establish security protocols for the event.

"We worked together. He has his team and they do this all over the country. We all know that. It's not uncommon for them. They're very comfortable on campuses. And I was coordinating with his lead security guy," Long said during a press briefing on Sept. 10, 2025.

Long said six campus police officers were working the event, including some in plainclothes who were monitoring the crowd.

"We train for these things, and you think you have things covered, and these things, unfortunately, they happen," Long said. "You try to get your bases covered and, unfortunately, today we didn't. Because of that, we have this tragic incident."

At the time, a university spokesperson told ABC News that they were unable to answer specific questions about the security plan for the event.

The university spokesperson directed ABC News to a page on the school's website answering some frequently asked questions about the Charlie Kirk event. Under the question "What security measures were taken?" the website stated, "Kirk's lead security staff coordinated with UVU Police Chief Jeff Long regarding the security measures."

The website page also said that Kirk had previously visited the school with Turning Point USA in 2019.

Following the assassination, UVU announced it would initiate 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 on Sept. 22, 2025. "We will integrate the findings into our efforts to strengthen and improve safety practices for UVU and all of Utah higher education."