What We Can Learn About Event Security From The Charlie Kirk Assassina

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 18, 2025, 2:45 AM

what we can learn about event security from the charlie kirk assassina

Well-wishers pay their respects at a makeshift memorial at the national headquarters of Turning Point USA shown after the shooting death of Charlie Kirk, the co-founder and CEO of the organization, during a Utah... 10, 2025. On September 10, political activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated at a rally at Utah Valley University. The rally, billed as the American Comeback Tour, was meant to “educate students about the importance of freedom, free markets and limited government.” Video shows Kirk sitting on the stage and talking when a shot rang out and struck him in the neck. He later died from the wound, becoming the latest victim of targeted political violence.

| RELATED: Protecting high-profile figures: A police plan for preventing targeted attacks Two people were initially taken into custody after the shooting but later released, as reported by ABC News. FBI Director Kash Patel said the manhunt for the suspected shooter remains underway and the investigation is ongoing. [1] Law enforcement at the federal, state and local levels is processing a large crime scene, collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses. On September 10, political activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated at a rally at Utah Valley University. The rally, billed as the American Comeback Tour, was meant to “educate students about the importance of freedom, free markets and limited government.”

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to follow and signup for notifications! Video shows Kirk sitting on the stage and talking when a shot rang out and struck him in the neck. He later died from the wound, becoming the latest victim of targeted political violence. | NEWS COVERAGE: Charlie Kirk fatally shot in act of political assassination at Utah college Two people were initially taken into custody after the shooting but later released, as reported by ABC News. FBI Director Kash Patel said the manhunt for the suspected shooter remains underway and the investigation is ongoing.

[1] Law enforcement at the federal, state and local levels is processing a large crime scene, collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses. The killing of Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10 shocked the nation, sparking difficult conversations about the state of political violence. “It’s important for people to understand this elevated risk climate touches all tiers and facets of political life, and that it extends beyond politics,” says Michael Evanoff, Chief Security Officer and Global Advisor at... “This ultimately is tied to a broader trend we’re seeing where people seem more likely to take violent action around polarizing issues of any kind. The conversation that’s important for us to have as security professionals is how can we stay ahead of these risks.”

For those in the security industry, many leaders are sharing their concerns from the perspective of event security and executive protection. To learn more, I sat down with several security professionals and listened to their insights on the matter. “From an event security perspective, tragedies like the Kirk shooting remind us of the inherent limitations and challenges that security teams face,” says Christina Alexandropoulou, Philip Morris International’s Cluster Manager for Security & Market... “What often goes unnoticed is that prevention is not only about the presence of guards or technology, but about intelligence gathering, layered defenses, and advance planning. In this case, some measures may have been effective, such as establishing perimeters and screening, but once a determined attacker is willing to use violence in a crowded, public-facing space, the margin for prevention... What could have been improved is proactive intelligence-sharing and closer coordination between private security and law enforcement.

However, we must also acknowledge the reality: security teams often work under manpower, budget, and jurisdictional constraints. It is impossible to promise 100% prevention, but it is possible to minimize risks through preparation, training, and rapid response.” In instances where an event or executive must be protected with a small security team, these teams may feel their bandwidth stretched thin, amplifying their limitations. Yet, it is not impossible to provide effective security with a modest team. Is it even possible to have a secure, political outdoor event? Wednesday's shooting of Charlie Kirk raises questions about risk in outdoor spaces.

The conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University. Authorities say the sniper fired a single shot from a rooftop about 150 yards away. On Friday, a suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was taken into custody. Kirk's death has prompted questions about how vulnerable public figures are to violence and what can be done about that, especially at outdoor events. NPR's Meg Anderson joins us now. Welcome to the program.

MEG ANDERSON, BYLINE: Thanks for having me. RASCOE: So what is the - or what is typical in securing an outdoor event like this? ANDERSON: Yeah. So there were about 3,000 people at this particular event. It was held in sort of a quad. The university's police chief said Wednesday they had about six officers working the event.

Kirk had his own private security team as well. But security experts I spoke to said that number of officers was not enough for an event of this size. Given those limited resources, they said security would typically be focused on threats in close proximity. You know, someone rushing the stage with a handgun or a knife. What ended up happening was obviously different, and more officers on the ground, you know, maybe wouldn't have prevented that. But I should say, we don't know exactly what the security plan was.

I reached out to the university. I have not heard back. First and foremost: our hearts are with the Kirk family, the students and staff at Utah Valley University (UVU), and every attendee who witnessed the September 10 shooting. Moments like this should never become “normal.” They must, however, become instructive—so we can raise the bar on protection at open-press, high-attendance speaking events. What happened. On Sept.

10, 2025, Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while addressing a large outdoor crowd at UVU in Orem, Utah. Investigators say a single rifle round was fired from a nearby rooftop—roughly a football field or more away—during a midday program under a tented stage. Authorities have charged a 22-year-old suspect, Tyler Robinson, who was taken into custody in the days that followed. (The Guardian) Context that matters for planning. Reporting and official briefings indicate the event drew an estimated ~3,000 attendees; campus police assigned six officers; access remained largely open without magnetometers or routine bag checks; and there was no drone-based overwatch.

Security posture varied widely across Kirk’s tour stops—UVU’s configuration was notably permissive for an outdoor venue with prominent line-of-sight exposure to surrounding rooftops. (AP News) Below are hard-won, field-tested measures we recommend to hosts, campus administrators, and production teams—scaled by risk, venue, and budget. Threat picture: Coordinate early with local/federal partners and your private security lead for social media/OSINT review, prior incidents, and protest activity. The assassination of Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025, demands a serious and critical evaluation of the security planning, decision-making, and risk management surrounding the event. Moreover, as someone with extensive experience conducting threat risk assessments and creating security plans for large-scale engagements, I, Kurt Cooper, find myself compelled to ask questions that go beyond the immediate tragedy.

These are not questions of hindsight; they demand foresight that security consultants and planners should have exercised long before Kirk sat down to speak that day. The most pressing issues and questions are: Furthermore, from the available images and reports, Kirk was speaking in an open-air space roughly 200 yards from the Losee Center. This is a building with elevated vantage points that offered a potential shooter a direct line of sight. Placing the principal in such a vulnerable position violated fundamental protective planning principles. The presence of elevated, unsecured structures within range and in line-of-sight should have raised immediate red flags.

If the university dictated the seating, did Kirk’s security team object? If his security team did approve the seating, on what grounds? Many political groups and speakers are hitting pause as they reassess how to make appearances at universities and elsewhere following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. William Donahue, former head of College Republicans of America, believes that debates like the outdoor event at Utah Valley University on Sept. where Kirk was killed on Sept. 10, will have to be set aside for now.

“The tabling, ‘change my mind’ events are going to have to stop until this political climate settles down,” he said, referring to Kirk’s style of setting up a table at a campus and welcoming... “I have a responsibility to ensure our students are safe,” Donahue said. “I can’t put them in danger.” Five student members of the College Republicans of America were volunteers at Kirk’s event on Sept. 10. Donahue noted that the group does not have enough funding to provide its own increased security measures, and said it will have to rely on institutions to take on a greater role.

It is a critical security practice to secure elevated vantage points so a security team’s protectee does not get assassinated. This challenge will only worsen as drone-borne attacks become more common. The abject failure to secure vantage points at the Charlie Kirk event, similar to that which occurred when Donald Trump was almost assassinated in Butler, PA, embodies a recurring failure of both public and... Charlie Kirk – a 31-year-old conservative activist and CEO of Turning Point USA – was addressing a crowd of roughly 3,000 at an outdoor campus courtyard (the Sorensen Center plaza at Utah Valley University)... He sat under a white event tent emblazoned with “The American Comeback Tour” slogans, taking audience questions in a “Prove Me Wrong” open debate format. At approximately 12:05 PM, as Kirk was responding to a question about mass shootings, a single gunshot rang out.

Eyewitnesses and video confirm that Kirk was struck once in the neck mid-sentence. He immediately recoiled, raising his right hand toward the left side of his neck as a large volume of blood gushed from the wound. Kirk collapsed backwards off his chair almost instantly, lying motionless as panic erupted in the crowd. Attendees at first didn’t recognize the sound – some thought it was a confetti pop or prank – but within seconds realized it was a gunshot and chaos ensued. People screamed, ducked for cover, then began stampeding away once it seemed no second shot was forthcoming. Within moments, Kirk’s private security detail and event staff rushed to his aid, applying pressure to the wound as best as they could before evacuating him to a hospital.

What We Can Learn About Event Security From The Charlie Kirk Assassina

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