The tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Wednesday has not only shocked the nation but has also left witnesses deeply shaken and questioning whether enough was done to protect him. The 31-year-old was fatally shot while addressing an outdoor crowd of thousands, despite the presence of both university police and his own private security detail.
Eyewitnesses have described the chaos and horror of the moment. Justin Hickens, who was only 20 yards from Kirk, told NBC News, “I saw a bunch of blood come out of Charlie. I saw his body kind of kick back and go limp, and everybody dropped to the ground.” He recalled people knocking over barricades in a desperate scramble to escape the chaos.
Videos circulating on social media captured the pandemonium as students screamed and ran for safety. The raw footage underscores a recurring concern raised by multiple attendees: the apparent lack of adequate security.
“No one checked the barcode or the QR code. There was no checkpoint to get in. It was literally, anyone could walk in if they wanted,” another attendee, Tyler McGettigan, told NBC News. He and other witnesses confirmed that there were no metal detectors at the event, which seemed alarmingly lax for a figure as politically prominent as Kirk.
In response to the criticism, Utah Valley University Police Chief Jeff Long acknowledged the shortcomings. “We train for these things, and you think you have things covered, and these things, unfortunately, they happen,” Long said, admitting that his department, which has a staff of only six officers on duty for the event, along with some plainclothes officers, failed to have everything “covered.”
Afton Miller, a Turning Point USA member who was standing just feet away when Kirk was shot, described the terrifying moment. “We saw his neck get hit, and he immediately jolted his neck back and he fell,” she told NBC News. Law enforcement quickly evacuated the crowd as fear of more gunfire spread. The tragedy has spurred a national conversation about the safety of public political events and the measures needed to prevent such attacks in the future.