One year after Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University, his widow and family have taken the first formal legal step toward suing the school and state officials over his death — alleging campus police knew exactly which rooftop was vulnerable and never secured it.
Why it matters: The notice of claim, a required precursor to suing a government entity in Utah, lays out the family's specific theory of what went wrong: not a freak security lapse, but a specific warning that went unheeded, thin staffing, and a request for more officers that was turned down.
Driving the news:
Erika Kirk, the couple's two young children, and Kirk's parents Robert and Kathryn Kirk filed the notice of claim Sept. 9 against Utah Valley University, the State of Utah, campus police chief Jeffrey Long, then-university president Astrid Tuminez and other campus leadership.
The filing alleges Turning Point USA organizers specifically warned Long that students could access the Losee Center rooftop overlooking the event, and that Long told them "I got you covered." The rooftop was never secured — and it's where the fatal shot was fired from.
It claims no written security plan existed and no advance security briefing was held ahead of an outdoor event expected to draw thousands of attendees.
The family says Long asked for additional officers but Tuminez denied the request, and no outside law enforcement was brought in to help cover the event.
It also alleges rooftop security cameras weren't monitored in real time, no drones were deployed, and that Kirk was driven to the hospital in a private vehicle rather than an ambulance after he was shot.
By the numbers:
6 — campus police officers assigned to cover the outdoor event, per the filing.
~3,000 — spectators the event was expected to draw.
1 year — time between Kirk's Sept. 10, 2025 assassination and the family's Sept. 9, 2026 notice of claim.
What they're saying: "His murder was entirely preventable and 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," family attorney Brett Parkinson said, per Fox News.
What's next: A notice of claim doesn't itself file a lawsuit — it's a required first step that preserves the family's right to sue Utah government entities, and a formal wrongful-death complaint is expected to follow. Separately, the criminal case against accused shooter Tyler Robinson, who pleaded not guilty at arraignment, continues; prosecutors can still seek the death penalty.
The bottom line: The family's own account of who knew what before Kirk died — not just the shooting itself — is now on the record and headed toward a courtroom.
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