It’s been just over five months since tragedy struck at Utah Valley University (UVU) with the death of Charlie Kirk.
The assassination of the conservative commentator left many with questions about campus security, but in the months since, the university has declined to release the security plan from that day.
Sept. 10, 2025 became a day that changed everything at UVU. The world watched as the campus became the epicenter of the political assassination.
"We were like, 15-20 minutes in, and it was only the second question," one witness said.
"I immediately just couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing," another said that day.
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Spencer Joseph, Scripps News Group reporter in Salt Lake City, remembers pulling up to the campus that day and he couldn't even get very far into the parking lot with thousands pouring out of campus. It was about half an hour to an hour after the shooting that he got there and it was still madness. That's when he came across several students who were sitting in the front row, describing that scene.
"Everything just happened so fast, and everyone was running and screaming, saying, 'Get down!' I just didn't feel real," one of the students in that group said.
But the shooting itself wasn't the only thing they were talking about. Those same members of the campus community were already asking questions.
"It's very shocking that something like this would happen in Orem, Utah," one student said.
Another student said he had an eerie premonition during the event surrounding the lack of obvious security.
"I was actually looking at my friend right next to me and I was saying, you know, 'There's gotta be security here.' You know, he's at the bottom of this giant, like Coliseum-looking thing. I actually mentioned, like, 'What if something really, like, crazy happened right now? What if he got shot?'" the student said.
Even UVU staff members questioned their safety.
"I don't feel safe anymore for the fact that someone can walk around campus with a gun in their backpack," a staff member said.
"That's a little bit jarring to know that. You know, we have to go to school next week," another said.
While a lot of information has come out following Kirk's death and the arrest of Tyler Robinson, the university has yet to answer questions about the plan to keep not only Kirk but also the students on campus safe.
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Paisley Cooper, a sophomore at UVU, was on campus that day but didn't attend the rally.
"I had actually just walked by where he was talking and just sat down right in the computer science building," Cooper said.
Aubrey Hawley, also a sophomore at UVU, felt the aftermath along with her roommates.
"All of my roommates came back, and we kind of were just sitting on the couch, and we were like, 'This doesn't feel real,'" she said.
Neither attended the rally, but both felt the impact. They said in the days and weeks following the incident, security was tight.
"I did see a lot more campus security, campus police walking around the halls," Cooper said
"Up until winter break, there were police cars parked throughout different spots on campus," Hawley added.
Cooper admits she hadn't thought much about security before the incident.
"I hadn't given any thought to the security, and I didn't think anything would go wrong, because you don't usually think about that," Cooper said.
When I asked if they'd want to see the security plan, both students expressed interest.
"I think it'd be really interesting to see maybe the plan beforehand, and maybe even what they would do differently now," Hawley said.
"I would definitely want to see that, just because I still feel like at this point, I don't know what happened. I don't know what security measures happened, what they decided to do," Cooper said.
The day after Charlie Kirk was murdered, Scripps News Group investigative reporter Nate Carlisle filed a records request with UVU for that security plan. All it said was: "I request a copy of any security plan for the Charlie Kirk or Turning Point USA event on campus on September 10, 2025.”
The university declined, citing several Utah codes.
The Scripps News Group in Salt Lake City appealed that petition and started the process to go before the state’s new government records office.
That's all typical of the public records process, but then they got another letter — one that was unusual. It was a letter from Tyler Robinson and his attorneys in support of the university's decision to deny the release of the security plan.
In its 12 pages, it lays out several legal arguments as to why the request should be denied, arguing that the security plan is a "protected" record that isn't public and that its release could taint Robinson's trial.
The letter concludes by saying: "The appeal should be denied." This was even more unusual because that initial request didn't mention Robinson at all. In fact, it was made before he was even arrested.
On Thursday, the Scripps News Group in Salt Lake City will go before the judge and continue to appeal for those records, arguing that there is high public interest in disclosing the security plan and insufficient justification not to.
But in the meantime, students still wonder what happened. When asked when things returned to normal, Hawley said it took time.
"It took a few weeks for sure. You could just tell that people felt a little bit different being back," Hawley said.
In the wake of the shooting, Hawley added that the university communicated well with students, making “their first priority… safety.”
But the shadow of that day still remains with questions surrounding it and what more could have been done to prevent it.
When asked if people's minds might be at ease if they knew more about what was protecting them that day, both students agreed.
"I think so. I believe that most people would appreciate knowing," Hawley said.
"I definitely think so. It would make me feel safer to know that they're looking out for us and have plans in place just in case of something happening," Cooper added.
This story was originally published by Spencer Joseph with the Scripps News Group in Salt Lake City.
