“Is everything OK?” a 911 dispatcher can be heard asking midday Sept. 10.
The person on the other line sounds breathless, their response garbled, but the recording picks up parts: “Charlie Kirk” and “shot in the neck.”
The dispatcher tries to clarify: “You were shot in the neck?”
“No,” the person says. “Charlie Kirk was,” soon adding that the conservative commentator, who had just been speaking to a massive crowd at Utah Valley University, “got rushed off in an SUV, a black SUV.”
“He got shot right in the neck,” the person continues, “so I don’t think he has long.”
“Did you see it happen?” the dispatcher asks.
“Yes,” they reply. “I saw everything.”
The Salt Lake Tribune reviewed this and 19 other recently released 911 calls, obtained through an open records request. The calls, fielded by dispatchers at Central Utah 911, span from the immediate moments after Kirk was fatally shot to nearly 35 minutes later, with several placed in a panic from the courtyard where Kirk had been holding his question-and-answer style Turning Point USA event.
The person who “saw everything” described crouching down after the shooting and trying to take cover. They said they didn’t know who shot Kirk, and the dispatcher said law enforcement had “units that are trying to find the shooter now.”
Just before they hung up, the dispatcher followed up with the caller: “You said his name was Charlie. What was his last name?”
“Charlie Kirk,” the caller said.
“Kirk, like K-I-R-K?”
“Yep,” the caller said. “K-I-R-K.”
‘Everybody’s running’
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) People react after Charlie Kirk was fatally shot during an appearance at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
One of the first 911 calls fielded from the scene that day quickly spewed the news, saying that the “Kirk speaker” at UVU “just got shot.”
“He’s a speaker, famous guy, speaker Kirk,” the caller said as they seemed to flee. “He just got shot in the middle of his speech.”
From a parking lot now, they say, “Everybody’s running; the whole UVU is running – he just got shot.”
The caller didn’t see the shooter, they tell the dispatcher. “He’s a speaker,” the person keeps trying to explain. “He’s a debater, famous debater, political debater.”
“Everybody’s running,” the caller repeats breathlessly, reporting that they made it to the parking garage where they left their vehicle. “I’m going to say a prayer.”
Another caller spoke with 911 just 24 seconds after 12:24 p.m. to report hearing the gunshot, which authorities have said struck Kirk at 12:23 p.m. The caller said they didn’t know what happened, but also said “everyone started running.”
“Are you able to safely leave and go to your vehicle?,” the dispatcher asks.
“There’s a big crowd. I’m trying,” the caller says. “I’m trying to find my wife too.”
A few minutes later, a dispatcher tried to assure another caller: “We do have so much help coming over to you guys. They’re on their way.”
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, a 911 call placed from the courtyard picks up the sounds of loud screaming. The dispatcher tries to understand what happened.
The caller, who also reports Kirk was shot, says they believe Kirk was the only person injured.
“Looks like someone’s been arrested already,” they add, as shouting continues in the background.
The caller was likely referring to George Zinn, whom officers quickly took into custody and led away from the scene. That’s because Zinn had claimed he shot Kirk, prosecutors later wrote in court filings.
Zinn, 71, was charged on Sept. 19 with obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony. He remains in Utah County jail without the option of bail.
‘Do I dare text her?’
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) People take cover and observe after Charlie Kirk was fatally shot at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
As terrified people ran from the Orem campus or took shelter nearby, others farther from the scene started getting secondhand reports.
“911,” a dispatcher said to a mother calling about 30 minutes after the shooting, “what’s the address of your emergency?”
“UVU,” she answers cautiously. “I don’t even know if it’s an emergency but…”
She explains that her daughter had texted her, saying, “There’s a shoote” — an apparent typo.
“I don’t know what she’s trying to communicate,” the mother said, “but that’s my panic.”
The dispatcher explains that they’ve received reports that a person was injured and that the university is on lockdown. Police, the dispatcher said, are clearing buildings.
“Just have her stay put until an officer comes to her door,” the dispatcher said, “but as long as they stay locked down…”
“Do I dare text her? Do I dare text her,” the mom asked, “because her phone will make noise, right?”
“At this point, you’re probably OK to do that,” the dispatcher said, “but it’s your decision.”
Of the 20 calls The Tribune reviewed, about half seemed to be from parents, friends or others concerned about loved ones on campus.
In one, a person called 911 on behalf of a grandfather, asking for information. The man had two granddaughters at UVU who said there was an active shooter, the caller said.
In another, a father says he called after hearing from his panicked daughter.
“She’s at UVU, said that there’s an active shooter. I’m sure you’ve gotten calls about that,” the dad said. “Are you aware of that?”
The dispatcher said they were. “Is your daughter safe?”
“She was pretty hysterical,” he responded, “but sounded like she’s in a building with a bunch of other people now. But she said she doesn’t think that they’ve gotten them yet, or what’s going on.”
‘Just stay tight, keep quiet’
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Police tape cordons off part of the roof of Utah Valley University's Losee Center in Orem after Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during an event on campus on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
People who weren’t in the courtyard but were otherwise on campus also grew panicked, unsure of what to do and unsure of what authorities knew, the 911 call recordings show.
UVU’s first text alert about the shooting was sent 19 minutes after the gunshot rang out, and over the next five hours, the school sent a dozen messages to students, staff and faculty.
The first alert seemed to indicate the shooter had been immediately captured, so some recipients thought it was safe to stay on campus. But alerts that followed gave conflicting guidance, if they included directions at all. And none clarified that the shooter, in fact, was still at large.
In one 911 call, placed about 29 seconds after 12:35 p.m., a person who wasn’t at UVU reported that their friend was hiding by herself inside a suite at the Losee Center. Authorities later said the gunshot that killed Kirk came from atop the center’s roof.
The friend didn’t have any cellphone service, the caller said.
“For right now, if you have communications with her, just tell her to go ahead and stay where she’s at, and they are in lockdown, so just stay where she’s at,” the dispatcher said.
In another recording, a dad said he called after hearing that his daughter, who had limited cell service, was sheltering in a classroom and didn’t know what was happening.
“We have several officers there, and they’re going to start clearing the buildings when they can,” the dispatcher said. “So as long as they stay where they’re at, keep the door locked and wait for an officer to come clear them.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Law enforcement conducts a search of the Utah Valley University campus in Orem after conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was shot on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
“OK, all right. Yeah, she just panicked and said their call won’t go through,” the dad said, “so I was just trying to help her out.”
“If you have contact with her,” the dispatcher advised, “just tell them to barricade the door wherever they’re at, stay locked in the doors and wait until an officer comes and lets them out of the room.”
Another person called from a “fish bowl computer lab” on campus, where about 30 to 40 others were sheltering after the shooting.
“We have one person armed. He’s wearing a green shirt, khaki hat and jeans, and he’s standing with us. He’s helping us,” the caller clarified. “He’s not, not attempting to hurt us.”
“Is the room secure?,” the dispatcher asked.
The caller responded: “I believe the door is locked.”
“OK, just stay tight,” the dispatcher said, “keep quiet and, like I said, they should be there shortly.”
UVU’s campus remained an active scene for hours after Kirk was killed. A suspected shooter was not arrested until the next night, about 33 hours later, when Tyler James Robinson later turned himself in to police.
Robinson has been charged with seven counts, including aggravated murder, and is facing the possibility of a death sentence if convicted. The 22-year-old is scheduled to appear in court on Monday at the 4th District Courthouse in Provo, which has implemented increased security ahead of the morning hearing.
The hearing will mark Robinson’s first in-person court appearance since he was arrested.
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