2026-09-16T06:37:00-0400 / 哥伦比亚广播公司/美联社
查理·柯克的家人在周三公布的 wrongful death（不当致死）通知中指责犹他州官员未能阻止这名保守派活动家在一所州立大学遇刺，这预示着可能会提起诉讼。
该家族的律师表示，柯克的死亡源于犹他谷大学官员一系列“鲁莽决策”，使他暴露在屋顶狙击手的射程之内。2025年9月10日，狙击手在400多英尺外开枪，致其当场身亡。事发当日，该校因缺乏关键安保措施遭到严厉批评。
年仅31岁的柯克当时正在一处露天庭院与学生进行辩论，周围环绕着高层建筑，现场约有数千人参加。枪击事件发生后美联社的调查显示，奥勒姆市的该校区未采用几项已成为全美活动标准安保措施的做法。
校园警察的人员配备远低于该规模学校的推荐标准。他们也没有使用无人机监控屋顶，也未与当地执法部门协调以保障这场约3000人参加的活动安全。现场未设置行李检查或金属探测器。
“鉴于前一年一名屋顶狙击手试图暗杀查理·柯克的密友兼政治盟友特朗普总统，屋顶枪手的风险本应尤其受到重视，”柯克家族的律师D·洛伦·沃什伯恩在致州政府和大学官员的通知中写道。
这份日期为9月9日的文件——也就是柯克遇难一周年纪念日前一天——是根据州法律规定，其家人提起正式索赔或诉讼前的必要步骤。通知对象包括该大学及其时任校长阿斯特丽德·图米内兹、校园警察局及其局长杰弗里·朗，以及犹他州政府。
在周三发给哥伦比亚广播公司新闻的一份声明中，该校表示：“我们已收到索赔通知。犹他谷大学将按照既定程序处理法律事务。我们的重点仍然是支持校园社区。”
犹他州总检察长办公室表示，不会就潜在诉讼置评。
柯克家族的律师还指控官员们存在其他疏漏，包括在批准活动前未进行充分的风险评估、未能建立安全警戒线，且未立即安排急救人员，导致柯克中枪后被私家车而非救护车送往附近医院。
“将柯克先生置于无助境地的局面”
“可悲的是，犹他谷大学相关方未采取这些安全措施——这些措施本只有他们有权落实——最终导致柯克先生在刺客面前束手无策，”沃什伯恩写道。
朗在枪击事件发生后表示，当时有六名警员负责此次活动的安保，并与柯克的八人私人安保团队进行了协调。校方称枪击事件发生后正在扩充警察队伍。
犹他州居民泰勒·罗宾逊在柯克遇刺次日自首。检察官称，他告诉自己的恋人，他“受够了他（柯克）的仇恨言论”。犹他州方面辩称，罗宾逊因柯克的政治信仰 targeting 他，且明知有儿童在场并会目睹枪击事件。
罗宾逊被控加重谋杀罪，若罪名成立可被判处死刑。9月1日，一名法官下令该案进入审判程序，目前尚未确定开庭日期。
今年7月的预审听证会上，检方出示了他们称之为针对罗宾逊的压倒性证据。其中包括罗宾逊在校园内的监控录像、将他与暗杀现场附近发现的步枪联系起来的DNA检测结果，以及据称他留给恋人的手写便签，上面写着：“我有机会除掉查理·柯克，我做到了。”
柯克的父母罗伯特·柯克和凯瑟琳·柯克，以及遗孀埃丽卡·柯克出席了听证会。
根据州法律，如果死亡是由不法行为或疏忽造成的，死者的继承人或个人代表可以提起诉讼寻求赔偿。柯克家人的通知并未具体说明他们可能寻求何种赔偿。
柯克与其共同创立的组织“转折点美国”推动了保守派青年选民投票，助力特朗普连任总统。在本该是柯克32岁生日的总统自由勋章颁奖仪式上，特朗普称赞这位政治活动家帮助他在最近的总统选举中赢得了更多30岁以下选民的支持。
柯克的遗孀埃丽卡·柯克在其追悼会上表示，她原谅了罗宾逊。
在去年12月的哥伦比亚广播公司新闻市政厅活动中，埃丽卡·柯克被问及是否有话想对这名被控杀手说。
“没什么。我没什么想对你说的。什么都没有，”她说。
她补充道，原谅某人与仍想寻求正义是两回事。“我们有一位公正的上帝，知道这一点我就安心了。他拥有至高无上的权力，同时也秉持公正。所以就让上帝来处理这件事吧。”
Charlie Kirk’s family says “reckless decisions” by Utah officials led to his assassination
2026-09-16T06:37:00-0400 / CBS/AP
Charlie Kirk’s family blamed Utah officials for failing to prevent the conservative activist’s assassination at a state university, in a wrongful death notice announced Wednesday that presages a possible lawsuit.
Attorneys for the family said Kirk’s death resulted from a string of “reckless decisions” by officials at Utah Valley University that left him exposed to a rooftop sniper, who fired a fatal shot from more than 400 feet away on Sept. 10, 2025. The university has faced harsh criticism for a lack of key safety measures on the day of the shooting.
Kirk, 31, had been debating students in an outdoor courtyard surrounded by tall buildings and with several thousand people in attendance. An Associated Press review following the shooting showed the campus in Orem did not use several public safety practices that have become standard safeguards at events around the country.
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.
In a statement to CBS News on Wednesday, the university said: “We are aware of the notice of claim. UVU addresses legal matters consistent with our established processes. Our focus remains on supporting our campus community.”
The Utah Attorney General’s Office said it does not comment on potential litigation.
Attorneys for Kirk’s family alleged additional lapses by officials, including not conducting an adequate risk assessment before approving the event, failing to establish a secure perimeter and having no first responders immediately available, resulting in Kirk being taken to a nearby hospital in a private vehicle rather than an ambulance after he was shot.
“Situation that rendered Mr. Kirk helpless”
“Tragically, the UVU Parties took none of these safety measures – steps only they had the authority to take – resulting in a situation that rendered Mr. Kirk helpless before his assassin,” Washburn wrote.
Long said after the shooting that six of his officers staffed the event and coordinated with Kirk’s eight-person private security team. The school said it was expanding its police force following the shooting.
Utah resident Tyler Robinson turned himself in a day after Kirk’s killing. Prosecutors say he told his romantic partner that he “had enough of his (Kirk’s) hatred.” The state of Utah argued Robinson targeted Kirk because of his political beliefs, and knowing that children were present and would witness the shooting.
Robinson is charged with aggravated murder, making him eligible for the death penalty if convicted. A judge on Sept. 1 ordered the case to proceed toward trial. A date has not yet been set.
Prosecutors during a preliminary hearing in July presented what they characterized as overwhelming evidence against Robinson. That includes surveillance video of Robinson on the campus, DNA tests linking him to a rifle found near the assassination site and a handwritten note he allegedly left for his romantic partner that read, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it.”
Kirk’s parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, and widow, Erika Kirk, attended the hearings.
State law allows heirs or personal representatives of people who die to file lawsuits seeking damages if the death was caused by a wrongful act or negligence. The notice from Kirk’s family did not specify what damages they may seek.
Kirk and the organization he co-founded, Turning Point USA, galvanized the conservative youth vote to help President Trump win a second term. At a Presidential Medal of Freedom award ceremony on what would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday, Mr. Trump credited the political activist with helping him win a greater share of the under-30 vote in the most recent presidential race.
Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, said during his memorial service that she forgives Robinson.
At a December CBS News town hall, Erika Kirk was asked if she had any words for the accused killer.
“Nothing. I have nothing to say to you. Nothing,” she said.
She added that there’s a difference between forgiving someone and still wanting justice. “We serve a just God, and I rest easy in knowing that. He’s sovereign, but he’s just. And so let the Lord handle that.”