Erika Kirk and members of the Kirk family are beginning to make legal moves against Utah Valley University, the school where Kirk was assassinated last year.
They claim the school failed to implement certain security measures that were supposed to be in place when he spoke on campus.
FOX News reports:
Charlie Kirk’s family alleges UVU knew of rooftop security risk before his assassination: legal filing
Charlie Kirk’s family has filed a notice of claim — a precursor to a lawsuit — against Utah Valley University, the state and key individuals involved in campus leadership and security decisions, alleging that their failures led to the Turning Point USA founder’s wrongful death.
“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,” reads the filing, signed by Kirk family attorneys Loren Washburn, Brett Parkinson and Clifford Parkinson and dated Sept. 9.
In one alleged exchange cited in the filing, Turning Point USA organizers told UVU Police Chief Jeffrey Long that UVU students had informed them of rooftop access to the Sorenson Center, a building “pretty close” to where Kirk would be speaking the day he was killed — and directly west of the Losee Center, which is where his alleged killer fired the shot from.
“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,” someone at TPUSA wrote to the chief, according to the filing. “If possible.”
“I got you covered,” was Long’s alleged reply…
“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,” said Brett Parkinson, counsel for the Kirk family. “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.”
More from CBS News:
Campus police staffing was far below recommended levels for a school of that size. They also did not fly a drone to monitor rooftops or coordinate with local law enforcement to secure the event attended by about 3,000 people. There were no bag checks or metal detectors.
“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,” Kirk family attorney D. Loren Washburn wrote in the notice to state and university officials.
The document, dated Sept. 9, a day before the one-year anniversary of Kirk’s death, is a required step under state law before his family can file a formal claim or lawsuit. It names the university and its then-president, Astrid Tuminez; the campus police department and its chief, Jeffrey Long; and the state of Utah.
See a video report from FOX News below:
NEWS: The Kirk family has filed a notice of claim against Utah Valley University and many others, alleging a series of stunning security failures that left Charlie Kirk helpless to alleged rooftop assassin Tyler Robinson.
Fox News: “This is a precursor to a lawsuit and it… pic.twitter.com/SUNVbj1EQP
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