CEDAR CITY, Utah, Feb. 28, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A teenage boy was arrested Tuesday, one day after police say he took a gun to a Cedar City high school, pointed it at four students and physically assaulted another student.
Canyon View High School and Fiddlers Elementary School were locked down while officers arrested the juvenile about 1 p.m. Tuesday at a home near 100 East and DL Sargent Drive, the Cedar City Police Department stated in a news release.
On Monday, the juvenile and former Canyon View student arrived about 12:20 p.m. at the parking lot of the high school at 166 W. 1925 North, pulled a gun and pointed it at four students, police said.
“No students were harmed, and the juvenile male suspect left the area,” the news release states.
The teen returned to the school parking lot about 1:30 p.m. and physically assaulted a different student, police said.
School administrators were not aware of the incidents until students reported them to the resource officer at the end of the school day Monday, Iron County School District spokeswoman Shauna Lund said.
As a precaution, Canyon View had an additional police presence on campus Tuesday, Lund said.
“Due to the gravity of the threats and the involvement of a firearm, a search warrant was immediately obtained, and a unified plan was put in place to locate and arrest the suspect,” Cedar City police stated in the news release.
Police say evidence of the teen’s crimes was located at the home Tuesday. He was booked into juvenile detention for investigation of several charges, the release states.
The boy “once attended Canyon View High School but is no longer a registered student in the Iron County School District,” according to the news release.
The schools were placed in a Level 1 lockdown Tuesday afternoon, meaning all outside doors were locked but classes continued inside, Lund said.
“Every action taken by the school was in collaboration with local law enforcement,” she said. “District administrators appreciate the relationship we have with our law enforcement community and the work that school resource officers do every day in keeping students safe.”
The school lockdowns quickly were lifted after the teen was taken into custody, police said.
“The safety of our children is of the utmost importance in our community, which is why every secondary school in the Iron County School District is assigned a school resource officer, with additional responsibilities and oversight of elementary schools,” the release states. “The investigation was quickly initiated and led by the assigned SRO, who serves as a great resource for trust and safety at school.”
The Iron County Sheriff’s Office, Utah Highway Patrol and Iron Metro SWAT assisted with taking the teen into custody, Cedar City police said.
