MURRAY, Utah, Jan. 11, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Turns out the suspicious person who caused a lockdown at Cottonwood High School Wednesday afternoon was a juvenile with a toy rifle looking for a place to stay.
He climbed up onto the roof of the school, according to a Granite School District update issued Wednesday evening. “Now that the incident has concluded, we now have more information we can share regarding the lockdown that happened on our campus after school today.”
Shortly after 4 p.m. the school resource officer assigned to the school received a report from a custodian about seeing a male climb onto the roof with what appeared to be a rifle.
“Officers were dispatched to the school and quickly found a male juvenile who had a rubber-band toy rifle with him. The juvenile was taken into custody without incident.”
The boy also had camping equipment and was looking for a safe place to spend the night after an argument at home. No threats were made or criminal intent displayed and he has been reunited with his family.
The incident happened after regular school hours, so students participating in after school activities, such as sports, were affected by the lockdown protocol. A notice regarding the lockdown was posted on the school’s website at 4:33 p.m.
“Cottonwood High School is on Lockdown Protocol as police attempt to locate a suspicious person seen on or around the campus,” the alert said.
“Students who are on campus for after school activities are safe, secure and accounted for,” the alert said. “The campus has been secured by law enforcement and we are asking the public to not come to campus at this time until police have located the suspicious person.”
The person was reportedly taken into custody minutes after the alert was posted, and the lockdown has been lifted, according to the Granite School District spokesman Ben Horsley.
Horsley characterized the number of young people still on campus at the time of the incident as “a handful.”
“No injuries,” he said in a 4:37 p.m. message to Gephardt Daily. “Police now have the suspect in custody.”
