THE EVENT. LISA. SO WE ARE HEARING FROM MORE PEOPLE WHO WERE AT THAT RALLY TODAY. KCRA 3’S ANAHITA JAFARY IS IN THE NEWSROOM WITH WHAT THEY SAW. YEAH. CURTIS. LISA, FEAR IS THE WORD ECHOING ACROSS UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY. STUDENTS TELL ME THEY NEVER THOUGHT THEY’D EXPERIENCE SOMETHING LIKE THIS AT THEIR SCHOOL. ONE STUDENT TELLS US SHE FELT THE EVENT WASN’T VERY SECURE, SAYING SHE DIDN’T NOTICE MANY SAFETY MEASURES IN PLACE. ESPECIALLY WITH HOW PACKED IT WAS NOT ONLY WITH STUDENTS, BUT FAMILIES, LARGE CROWDS, AND EVEN PROTESTERS. ONE COUPLE WE SPOKE WITH SAYS THE LOUD BANG DIDN’T SOUND LIKE A GUNSHOT AT FIRST, BUT ONCE PEOPLE STARTED SHOUTING AND RUNNING, THEY KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG. HERE’S WHAT THEY REMEMBER FROM THOSE TERRIFYING MOMENTS. WE’RE JUST TALKING FOR A LITTLE BIT, AND WE HEARD A BIG LOUD. WE HEARD A LOUD NOISE. AND AT FIRST I DIDN’T THINK IT WAS A GUNSHOT. I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE LIKE A SOMEONE. I DON’T KNOW, SETTING OFF LIKE A FIREWORK OR SOMETHING. I DON’T KNOW. BUT EVERYONE STARTED RUNNING AND WE HEARD PEOPLE SAY THAT THEY SAW BLOOD. AND SO THAT’S WHEN IT STARTED TO GET SCARY. SO WE WERE RUNNING OUT OF THERE. IT WAS KIND OF LIKE A SKETCHY ENVIRONMENT BECAUSE THERE WAS NO LIKE METAL DETECTORS OR ANYTHING. LIKE PEOPLE COULD JUST WALK IN. AND SO THERE WERE A LOT OF FAMILIES THERE TO. BUT AFTER WE HEARD IT, I WAS SO SCARED. I DIDN’T THINK, I DIDN’T WANT TO THINK IT WAS A GUN OR A SHOOTING. BUT I REALIZED, LIKE, THERE WAS NO WAY IT WASN’T GOING TO BE, THAT. STUDENTS SAY THEY’RE NOW UNEASY ABOUT RETURNING TO CAMPUS AND UNCERTAIN ABOUT WHAT THE UNIVERSITY WILL DECIDE FOR UPCOMING CLASSES. LIVE IN THE NEWSROOM. I’M ANAHITA JAFARY KCRA THREE NEWS. THANK YOU. AND HERE IS MORE ABOUT CHARLIE KIRK, THE CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST WAS 31 YEARS OLD, A FATHER OF TWO. HE FOUNDED TURNING POINT USA IN 2012. THE NONPROFIT ADVOCATES FOR CONSERVATIVE POLITICS ON HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES, AND PRESIDENT TRUMP CREDITED KIRK AND HIS GROUP FOR GALVANIZING A
Utah college where Charlie Kirk was killed is a lesser-known school but the state's largest
Updated: 6:48 AM CDT Sep 11, 2025
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The Utah college where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot Wednesday is the state's largest public university after years of rapid enrollment growth, but is lesser known than other colleges in the state.Related video above: Utah Valley University students recount terror after the assassination of Charlie KirkUtah Valley University was founded under a different name in 1941 as a vocational school focused on providing war production training. It didn't begin offering four-year degrees until the 1990s, a move that fueled a fivefold increase in enrollment over the next three decades. It now has nearly 47,000 students, according to the university website.Nearly nine out of 10 students at the school in Orem are from Utah, and 18% of students are 25 years old or older. Business and psychology are among the most popular majors.Utah Valley University's campus is right off a major highway about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City, where the state's flagship school, the University of Utah, is located.Utah Valley is also just a few miles away from Brigham Young University, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known widely as the Mormon church.Related video below: Witness to assassination of Charlie Kirk recounts chaos The Utah Valley University Wolverines have several athletic teams, including men's and women's basketball teams that play in the Western Athletic Conference.Related video below: Utah officials give first news conference after Charlie Kirk shooting
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah college where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot Wednesday is the state's largest public university after years of rapid enrollment growth, but is lesser known than other colleges in the state.
Related video above: Utah Valley University students recount terror after the assassination of Charlie Kirk
Utah Valley University was founded under a different name in 1941 as a vocational school focused on providing war production training. It didn't begin offering four-year degrees until the 1990s, a move that fueled a fivefold increase in enrollment over the next three decades. It now has nearly 47,000 students, according to the university website.
Nearly nine out of 10 students at the school in Orem are from Utah, and 18% of students are 25 years old or older. Business and psychology are among the most popular majors.
Utah Valley University's campus is right off a major highway about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City, where the state's flagship school, the University of Utah, is located.
Utah Valley is also just a few miles away from Brigham Young University, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known widely as the Mormon church.
Related video below: Witness to assassination of Charlie Kirk recounts chaos
The Utah Valley University Wolverines have several athletic teams, including men's and women's basketball teams that play in the Western Athletic Conference.
Related video below: Utah officials give first news conference after Charlie Kirk shooting