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PAYSON — More than two weeks after a mass school shooting in Florida, police received word of another threat at a Utah school.
Payson police said a Snapchat message was circulating about a threat of a shooting on Monday. However, they said there was never a threat. Instead, police said a student overheard four other students talking about sneaking into the school to throw a party, and the rumor started from there.
Police investigated the students involved and maintain there is no shooting threat and no danger. However, they will have extra police presence at Payson High this week.
The latest scare is at least the sixth scare out of a Utah school in the past two weeks.
Scott Carter is a mental health counselor who also works in high schools, and he said he believes kids don't know the seriousness of making threats, even fake ones.
"Teenagers know they shouldn't do this, but they don't know the why," Carter said. "Part of me really thinks for a lot of these kids it's almost a little bit of a cry for help."
Carter said parents know they should talk to their kids, but sometimes they don't know how.
"My advice is if you come at it really serious and very stern, that's going to be less effective than maybe after dinner or you're playing a game and say, 'Hey, I was thinking about something and I was hoping to ask you about it,'" Carter said.
Carter said the following are some questions you can ask:
- "What do you think about the Florida shooting?"
- "Do you ever worry that might happen at your school?"
- "Do you think it's OK to make a threat to the school even if you're not serious?"
- "Why do you think kids would do that?"
- "Why do you think the other kids at school would do that?"
School threat consequences in Utah:
Police investigate 5th threat of school violence in a week
A teen was charged on suspicion of terroristic threats after posting a Snapchat photo with a rifle and warning to "not come to school on Monday," police said.He added that it's important to talk to your kids, even if you think they would never do something like make a threat towards their classmates.
"Even if you're not worried if your kid might pose a threat to the school, they're probably anxious about going to school," Carter said. "They're probably anxious about what might happen at school."
