UPDATE REGARDING KEARNS HIGH THREAT:
In coordination with Unified Police and Granite District Police, we are providing the following update on the threat that was levied against Kearns High School this morning.
Student safety continues to be our primary concern and the basis for all decision-making. We regret any frustration that parents may have felt as a result of the limited information that we have been permitted to disclose. However, we will always err on the side of student safety and precautionary steps in coordination with law enforcement when disclosing details in these types of incidents. It is a necessary difficulty in order to keep kids safe.
We can at this time disclose that the threat was received from off of campus via email. From the onset, this threat was NOT considered to be very credible. REGARDLESS, every threat is taken very seriously by both school and law enforcement officials.
Students were already scheduled to be in an assembly and it was a convenient opportunity for students to be in a secure location in the building, while the rest of the building was further searched and secured by law enforcement.
Since the school was unable to disclose that a threat even existed at that point in time and to help kids feel secure about the clear increase of police presence on campus, students were initially told that law enforcement was conducting a search drill on the campus. Additionally, as the students were all in the assembly in the auditorium, to disclose any additional information at that time would have certainly caused unnecessary panic and had the potential for students to be injured.
As soon as the school was secured and in coordination with police, both parents and students were notified that a threat had been made. Those communications were intended to be coordinated, but it appears that parents were notified before students and we apologize for that.
Again, from the onset, this appeared to be a hoax intended to disrupt the school day.
Unified Police is the lead investigating agency and have asked that the details of the threat continue to not be disclosed at this time. This is to ensure that their investigation is not hindered.
If students or other community members have any information that could assist investigators, they are encouraged to contact Unified Police through their tip line at (801) 743-7000.
Thanks for your support of Kearns High School.
Benjamin Horsley
Director, Communications & Community Outreach
Granite School District
(385) 646-4420, Cell (801) 698-5335
Fax (385) 646-4194
