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EAGLE MOUNTAIN — Eagle Valley Elementary was evacuated Monday afternoon after a man allegedly told an employee there that his car, parked just outside the school, contained explosives.
The school was locked down and its 250 or so students, plus faculty, were evacuated shortly after. No injuries were reported. A bomb squad examined the scene for several hours and found no explosives.
Police later said the man who initiated the ordeal is Christopher Dewitt Craig, 35, of Eagle Mountain.
Craig, who police say gave himself up after three hours of negotiations, is the former head basketball coach at then-College of Eastern Utah. He also was previously an assistant coach at Northern Colorado University, the head coach at Midland College in Texas, and a college basketball player at multiple schools.
The incident began when Craig, wearing a light green robe, entered the school about 2:15 p.m., allegedly claiming he had a bomb and telling school administrators to get everyone out, according to a school district spokeswoman.
Craig parked his car next to the school entrance, went inside and told the school's front office secretary that he had a "large amount of explosives" in the trunk of his car, according to Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon. Craig then left the building again and went to his car, according to Cannon.
Craig also allegedly called police dispatchers to tell them explosives were in his car outside the school.
"He told dispatchers, and also staff at the school, to evacuate the school and to evacuate the children," Cannon said in a statement.
About 85 to 100 officers surrounded the school Monday afternoon. By early evening, Craig surrendered to police and was arrested. A search warrant executed at his residence found no explosives, Cannon said.
"Craig stated he wanted to share his message, and after he was allowed to do so he would walk away from his car and let officers arrest him," Cannon said. "After talking to negotiators, Craig did walk away from his car."
Cannon said Craig complained to police negotiators about "social injustices, that kind of thing." However, a precise motive is still being investigated and may be related to mental health issues, he said.
"It's never going to make perfect sense," Cannon told reporters. "It's not a rational act by any means."
Craig has a history with police, including a traffic stop in January in which he "became agitated and yelled obscenities at (a) deputy in a threatening manner," the sergeant added.
Craig pleaded guilty last year to attempted reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct and failure to disclose identity stemming from an April 2014 incident in which he drove his car onto an elementary school playground in Price. Three misdemeanor charges in that case were dropped.
Craig also has previous convictions in Utah for drug possession and drug paraphernalia possession, all misdemeanors.
A Sports Illustrated profile from 2014 goes in-depth about Craig's coaching talent and struggle with mental illness.
"Craig is known to have mental health related issues, but we do not know if he is currently receiving treatment," Cannon said.
Shortly after the incident, parents were asked to pick up their children at the LDS Church meetinghouse on Ira Hodges Parkway, where the students were bused in. All students were reunited with their parents by 5:30 p.m. Cannon praised Eagle Valley Elementary's handling of the ordeal.
"They did everything you would expect them to do to make sure the kids would be safe," he said. "I think it went about as well as it could."
Several employees inside the school didn't hear the evacuation announcement and didn't immediately leave the building, according to Cannon. Police helped them out of the building afterward.
In a message to parents, Eagle Valley Elementary school officials said the evacuation went well. The school schedule will resume as normal Tuesday, though parents are allowed to hold their children out if they feel it's necessary. Counselors will also be deployed at the school.
"There are many things to be thankful for today. First and foremost, that all children are safe," the message to parents reads. "It was a huge team effort. We’d like to thank the children for responding appropriately and following our procedures. Our office personnel responded quickly and efficiently, and their actions minimized the threat."
In all, 20 police agencies responded to the incident, schools officials added.
Craig was booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of making a threat of terrorism, interfering with an arresting officer, failure to disclose identity, disrupting operations of a school and disorderly conduct.
