UTAH COUNTY, SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah, Oct. 25, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A second-hand report of a possible gunman entering a high school led to multiple police agencies responding to a high school in the wrong county.
The school where the “suspicious person” information originated was Highland High, at 2166 S. 1700 East, in the Sugarhouse area of Salt Lake City.
Police, however, responded to Lone Peak High School at 10189 N. 4800 West in the town of Highland, Utah, 33 miles to the south in Utah County.
Authorities say a student who was told of the original report mistakenly directed police to a non-existent threat at Lone Peak.
Detective Michael Ruff, Salt Lake City Police Department, told Gephardt Daily that on Friday morning, a student at Highland High School in Sugarhouse reported seeing a stranger enter the school, holding something in his hand.
“The student reported it to school officials and police there, and our officers determined it was a vending machine contractor,” Ruff said.
But before the surveillance video was reviewed and the “stranger’s” identity determined, the student told others and one of them provided police with the bogus information.
So, in Utah County, multiple law enforcement agencies responded to Lone Peak. The school was put on lockdown, the grounds and interior were scanned, and students were questioned, patted down, and marched out with their hands on their heads.
The scene was determined to be safe, and students were released at school’s normal closing time.
Officials in Utah County told reporters that at least, it was a good training exercise.
The approximately 2,300 students enrolled at Lone Peak High School were put on lockdown while officers searched the school and grounds, and questioned those on site.
Meanwhile, no one responded to Highland High, and in fact, many who might have responded to the correct address had headed south to assist law enforcement at Lone Peak High.
Fortunately, nothing bad happened at Highland High either.
