Utah Valley University students are returning to campus following the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10, 2025. (Fox News Digital/Deirdre Heavey)
Afton Miller, a UVU student who said she was 5 to 10 feet away from Kirk when he was shot, said to Fox News Digital as she was returning to the assassination site for the first time: "No one should ever be able to say I've witnessed a school shooting, let alone the assassination of one of your greatest heroes."
Kirk, 31, was shot and killed while speaking to UVU students last Wednesday, Sept. 10. After a 33-hour manhunt, 22-year-old Robinson was arrested for assassinating Kirk. Gray outlined the formal charges against Robinson during a press conference on Tuesday, which was followed by the suspect's first court appearance.
UTAH LEADERS URGE UNITY FOLLOWING CHARLIE KIRK'S ASSASSINATION: 'TURNING POINT FOR AMERICA'
A memorial that began in the days following the shooting with sparse bouquets and a few signs honoring Kirk outside campus has now filled an entire patch of grass outside campus. And inside campus, just steps from where Kirk was shot, more tributes have grown by the day as students and locals walk solemnly through the courtyard to pay their respects.
UVU student Jessie Ball told Fox News Digital that she has witnessed her friends and classmates, including those who are atheists, return to prayer in the days following the assassination. UVU is hosting a campus and community-wide vigil on Friday to "come together in remembering, healing, and reaffirming shared values."
Flowers and tributes to conservative influencer Charlie Kirk have filled Utah Valley University's campus in the wake of his assassination on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)
He said he opts to keep his political views to himself because political violence is "becoming normalized," and when people don't agree, "they try to take it out on everybody else."
Trae Stevens, who grew up in Spanish Fork, which is about a one-hour drive south of campus, visited on Tuesday to pay his respects, because "to see that this could happen so close to home is really scary."
"Like Charlie said, silence creates violence," Stevens said. "I think it's important to address emotions before we address dialogue and policies because, ultimately, that's what drives things like this — emotions."
As campus reopened for UVU students seeking mental health resources and employees returning to work, memorials filled the grass outside campus. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)
Miller, who said Kirk was one of her heroes, said that through this tragedy, "we have to get closer to God and each other."
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"There's a reason we were brought to this point, and there's a reason we're going to continue forward," she said.
Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/utah-valley-university-mourns-charlie-kirk-campus-reopens-after-assassination-extremely-traumatic