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COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Extra police officers patrolled the campus of Brighton High School on Monday, both outside the school and in the hallways.
But while most parents and students knew that some kind of threat had been levied, no one is talking about the nature of the threat.
"I think they should let the parents know what's going on. How serious is this? Is it just a kid goofing off? Obviously they know more than they're telling us," said Debbie Earl, whose son attends Brighton High. "And obviously it's pretty serious if they've got all the cops up here for the whole week. Which day is it going to be? It's very serious and it's very scary as a parent."
Earl said she was reluctant to let her son go to school Monday.
"I pray to God that he's safe. I hope they know enough of what's going on to keep him safe," she said.
The Canyons School District only told parents that the high school received an undisclosed threat via social media.
The Deseret News has learned that the FBI and another local police agency received the threats through Twitter using direct messaging. The local agency forwarded the message to the Cottonwood Heights Police Department, which has police jurisdiction over Brighton.
Police K-9s were sent to go in and around the school Sunday. Police have kept an eye on the school day and night since Friday and reportedly will continue to do so for the next week.
"We will have extra security here at Brighton High School until we feel like the school, the community feels safe, (and) the police investigation follows through," said Canyons School District spokesman Jeff Haney.
He said the school wanted to be open in how it responded to the threat, even if school administrators wouldn't release details about the threat itself. Haney said however, that the threats mentioned Brighton High directly and not any individual student. He later said the threats involved "possible violence at the school" on Monday.
Sunday night, Brighton High Principal Charisse Hilton sent an email to parents and students alerting them of a situation.
"Please rest assured that we have not found any weapons, facsimiles of weapons or other artifacts at the school, which has been closely guarded throughout the weekend," Hilton wrote. "We also asked the police for additional security at the school when classes resume on Monday.
"Brighton High and Canyons district administrators and Cottonwood Heights police officers will be in the hallways and around the school in the coming days. The campus will be well protected," the message states.
Some parents, however, were concerned enough by the unspecified threats that they allowed their children to stay home from school Monday. Brighton reported about 175 of the approximately 2,100 students who attend the school did not show up for class Monday. Haney said that was a little above average for any given day.
He reiterated Monday that students may see officers walking the hallways of the high school for the next week.
"When parents come, they will see extra security out and about," Haney said.
Cottonwood Heights police referred questions about the threat and their investigation to the school district. They said, however, that the threats are being taken seriously.
The school also asked students to keep their eyes and ears open and call the school at 801-826-5800 or Cottonwood Heights police at 801-840-4000 if they have any information regarding the threats.
Contributing : Nicole Vowell
