VERNAL, Utah, March 15, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — Uintah School District wants parents to know that a report of an armed student at Vernal Middle School on Wednesday has been investigated and was determined to be unfounded.
District Superintendent Mark Dockins stated in a Thursday post on Facebook that a report that a student brought a gun to the middle school on Wednesday has “proven to be false.”
“As soon as we learned about it Wednesday night, we called the principal and she contacted Vernal police,” Dockins said. “They immediately began their investigation.”
The students involved were interviewed Wednesday and Thursday, according to the Facebook post.
“Police determined there was no gun on campus Wednesday and the student who was accused of bringing a gun to school never threatened to do so,” Dockins said.
Investigators learned that the accused student had made “concerning statements in November about a prior incident of school violence in another state,” and when questioned, the accused student acknowledged having made the statements.
Officers then conducted a security check at the boy’s home. They determined that the boy does not have access to any firearms.
Dockins said the teen was asked to stay home from school Thursday because of his past comments and he will have to go through a Safe Schools hearing.
“We take all threats seriously,” Dockins said.
He added that anyone with information about a potential threat to any school should tell the school or the police.
“We need everyone to do their part to help us keep our schools safe,” he said.
