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Charlie Kirk: Student, mom recount fateful event
Security experts say the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah has exposed the challenges of protecting public figures, especially at large outdoor events. FOX 10 Investigator Justin Lum spoke with a mother and her daughter, who witnessed the chaos following the shooting.
PHOENIX - The shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus has exposed possible security gaps for political events.
The backstory:
The shooting happened during an event that was part of Kirk's "American Comeback Tour." Graphic video posted to social media shows Kirk on stage, sitting in a chair and talking into a microphone when a single gunshot was heard. People started screaming and running away following the shooting.
Officials say the shooter fired the lone gunshot from the top of a building that is located less than 200 yards away from where Kirk was sitting with his own security around him.
"All I could see is him just going limp. Like, I saw the life leave him in that instant, and I knew he was gone," said Alicia Smith.
Panic came over Smith as she went to the ground, covering her daughter Katy.
"I'm down there, you know, protecting my child, as best as I can," said Smith. "I looked up, and there was a uniformed officer right there by us, who told us to stay down, like, don't get up yet, stay down and then he told us, he's like, ‘OK, go, and go this way’, and he pointed to where the doors were, to get back into the building."
It should be noted that in May, a new law took effect in Utah that allowed anyone at least 18 years old with a valid concealed weapon permit to carry a firearm on public college and university campuses.
Deadly shooting raises questions
Dig deeper:
According to police with UVU, there were six police officers working the event. The Smiths said they had tickets, but say no one had to be screened by security.
"You didn't have to scan a ticket or anything, you just basically walked into it and just sat down and watched," Katy said.
Katy said all the campus buildings are connected, and accessible from the inside.
"There's such easy access, like, everywhere," Katy said. "Like, to the roofs, there's such easy access at UVU."
Expert Perspective:
"What is being exposed is that: how hard it is to secure an outdoor event," said Frank Boudreaux Jr.
Boudreaux is the former special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service Phoenix Field Office, protecting five presidents over his career. He said a staffing of six officers for 3,000 attendees is not sufficient, and the shooter’s access to high ground made everyone vulnerable.
"The students that were there, and the attendees are very fortunate that only one shot was taken, and that's unfortunate that this happened, but this just shows you the risk that you're putting the public in when you have an event that's outside, and you don't have the high ground covered, and you don't have adequate security in place," he said.
"Events of that scale require massive effort and coordination to truly have airtight security," said Trevor Posnikoff with Kinsaker Security Group.
Posnikoff, who specializes in executive protection and is retired from law enforcement, said Kirk’s killing will change how security is assessed for future high-profile events surrounding influential figures.
"I think you'll see something similar here with large-scale events, and not just political people, people in the public eye, high net worth individuals... the level of security will only escalate," he said.
What's next:
The UVU campus is closed until Monday, Sept. 15. Smith, meanwhile, remains on edge.
"I'm a little concerned to send my child back," she said. "I'm a little on edge for how they run security."