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COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Panic spread through Brighton High School and surrounding schools Friday morning when a Snapchat post was misconstrued as a school threat and passed among students.
A student who does not go to Brighton High School posted a video of a gun commonly used for paintballing on Snapchat. The video traveled around social media and a threat that warned people to get out of Brighton High School was eventually added to the post, said Canyons School District spokesman Jeff Haney.
Rumors that an active shooter was on campus flew among students at Brighton and nearby schools. Administrators at Brighton also began receiving calls from worried parents and students, Haney said.
"We understand their concern in this day when things are happening across the country. There are many people who will panic when they hear of something that could happen at their school," Haney explained. "We want to be clear that there has been no threat against our school or any of our students."
Police contacted the parents of the student who posted the original video and verified that he has no access to weapons and was at home at the time the video circulated, Haney said.
The school did not go on lockdown and there was no immediate threat to anyone, Haney emphasized.
Cottonwood Heights police questioned the student who posted the original video and determined there was no credible threat to any students or schools, said Cottonwood Heights police Lt. Dan Bartlett.
Contributing: Eric Morgan, KSL
