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SALT LAKE CITY — A 15-year-old boy is under investigation for spreading false rumors about a possible school shooting, prompting an increased police presence and an even larger number of students staying home from school, according to police.
On Oct. 30, the student at Skyline High School told a school administrator that “he was approached by a kid wearing a black hoodie” who told him, “Don’t worry about who I am, just don’t come to school tomorrow,” according to a search warrant affidavit filed in 3rd District Court.
But when a school resource officer checked school security cameras, such an interaction could not be found, the warrant states.
The student who reported the threat then told the same story to other students, prompting many of them to report it on the SafeUT app.
“I was in class and overheard (the teen) telling his friends someone told him not to come to school tomorrow implying something bad will happen tomorrow. I’m worried for my safety and the safety of the school. I’m not coming to school tomorrow,” stated one message submitted to the app.
As the officer continued to investigate, he discovered inconsistencies in the timeline of the student’s story, the affidavit says.
But as the rumor spread, more messages appeared on the SafeUT app.
Unified Police Sgt. Melody Gray said the next day, Oct. 31, 659 absences were reported at the school. In addition, three extra Granite police officers were at the school at the beginning of the day as well as Granite School District employees “to discuss a safety plan” for the school day.
While police and school administrators were talking, the boy’s mother called the school to report that her son “made up the incident and that it never happened,” the warrant states. She said that her son informed her the night before about what he had done.
Gray said the teen now faces potential charges of making a terroristic threat and making a false report.
As of Thursday, the boy had not been formally charged. Gray said evidence of a separate crime was discovered while detectives were investigating the false threats case, and those investigations are all ongoing.
