SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 24, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — After bomb threats at both Highland High School and Hillside Middle School Monday, no evidence was found after officers and bomb dogs did sweeps of both locations.
The Salt Lake City School District tweeted at 11:30 a.m. police were searching the buildings at the middle school, at 1825 S. Nevada Street (2400 East), and the high school, 2166 S. 1700 East. The two schools are 1.5 miles apart.Â
The Salt Lake City Police Department said in a news release Tuesday that both schools received threatening phone messages, but the voicemails were not discovered until late in the morning.
Just before 12:15 p.m., the School District tweeted that Highland High was being evacuated, and parents could pick up their children if they wish.
“Police want to intensify their search and bring in dogs to aid in the search,” the tweet said.
The school also tweeted that buses drove their routes early and dropped students at home.
A lockdown on Hillside Middle School, that lasted approximately one hour, was lifted at approximately 12:30 p.m.
“Both schools received bomb threats, but police are not sure of credibility,” one of the tweets said. “As a precaution lockdowns have been called while police search.”
A 15-year-old freshman at the high school, who didn’t want to be named, said he was in a language arts class when the school evacuated all the students into either the auditorium or the gym to explain what was happening. “They made sure everything was OK and said not to panic or anything like that,” he said. “And then they just said, go home, to all the students. I just hope we are all safe.”
A 15-year-old ninth grader, who was in a fitness for life class in the gym, said an incident such as this has never happened to her before. “I was scared, because I didn’t know what was going to happen” she said. “I didn’t know if the person was inside the school, and my brother went to the auditorium, I was worried about him too. I just want everyone to stay careful.” Her brother, an 11th grader who is a junior, said he didn’t know at first whether the incident was a prank. He said he wasn’t scared for himself but was scared for his sister, because she was inside the gym.
