Police: Rumor of gun threat at Moab schools is unfounded
by Lisa J. Church
staff writer
Dec 26, 2012 | 1621 views | 0 0 comments | 9 9 recommendations | email to a friend | print
A false rumor that someone planned to bring a gun to Grand County High or middle school prompted local law enforcement to post officers at all county schools on Friday, Dec. 21. Moab Police Chief Mike Navarre said city police and Grand County Sheriff’s deputies investigated the rumored threat and determined it was unfounded.

“No one brought a gun to school. That’s completely untrue ...,” Navarre said. “ I feel satisfied there was never a plan for anybody to bring a gun to school or anything close to that.”

Police first learned of the rumor on Thursday night, Dec. 20, at approximately 9 or 9:30 p.m., Navarre said. Grand County Sheriff’s deputies and city police investigated the rumor that evening and continued to follow up on Friday morning, Navarre said.

Several other schools in Utah also saw stepped-up police presence on Friday due to similar rumors. The Cache School District closed Mountain Crest High School in Hyrum and increased security at other schools in the district after receiving a report that a student was overheard saying he would bring a gun to Mountain Crest High on Friday. Police were also at Syracuse, Copper Hills and West Jordan high schools on Friday, although no threats had been substantiated, according to reports from various news outlets throughout the state.

Earlier in the week, two students at Roosevelt Junior High School were taken into custody after one of them threatened to bring a gun to school because he was angry with a teacher, according to a report on KSL news in Salt Lake City.

At about 9 a.m. on Friday, parents with students enrolled in Grand County Schools received an automated phone message through the school district’s ParentLink system informing them the district was aware of the rumored threat. A short time later, a second message was sent saying the rumor had been investigated and it was unfounded.

Navarre said that even though police knew Friday morning that the rumor was false, he and Grand County Sheriff Steve White felt it was important to have officers posted at the schools. Officers also were present at school sanctioned events throughout the district and followed school buses along their routes at the end of the day, he said.

“In light of everything going on, I thought it best that we be on hand ...,” Navarre said. “We just had a big presence, mostly to make sure people felt safe and comfortable.”
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