'There was never a threat': Lone Peak High cleared after tip confusion causes lockdown

HIGHLAND — A report of a person with a weapon at Lone Peak High School on Friday afternoon was determined not to be credible and all students are safe, officials say.

Lone Peak police contacted the school at 12:07 p.m. regarding a possible threat, and the school immediately went into lockdown. By 3 p.m., the school building and premises were all cleared, according to Alpine School District spokeswoman Kimberly Bird.

Lone Peak police received a report that someone had seen a person with a weapon at the school located at 10189 N. 4800 West, according to Bird. The report was determined not to be credible and may have been inaccurately reported, she added.

Police went classroom to classroom and searched the perimeter of the building. There were over 100 police officers at the school, Bird said.

In an email to parents, the district said the report was actually about Highland High School in Salt Lake City, not Lone Peak High School in Highland.

"After the building was searched and no threat was found, further investigation clarified that the threat referenced Highland High School, not 'the High School in Highland,' as had been originally reported," the email says. "To be clear, there was never a threat at Lone Peak High School."

The email thanks law enforcement for its quick response to the report.

Salt Lake City police said nothing happened at Highland High School, KSL Newsradio reported. A message to the school community from Highland High Principal Chris Jenson said a reported suspicious person on campus turned out to be a vending machine worker who posed "no threat to our students."

District officials are hoping parents of students will talk to their kids about what happened, Bird said. Additional support services will be available at the school when students return on Monday, she added.

The email to parents says that tonight's Lone Peak football game at Riverton and other planned activities will go ahead as scheduled. Staff will be available until 9 p.m. tonight to assist students who left personal items at the school after the lockdown, it says.

The Lone Peak lockdown was Utah's second of the day after Uintah High School went on lockdown for about 20 minutes in the afternoon. The Uintah School District said on its Facebook page that a staff member reported a suspicious person on campus and that law enforcement quickly responded and located the individual.

The district said there was "no threat to the students or staff."

Contributing: Sam Penrod, KSL TV; Emerson Oligschlaeger, KSL; Graham Dudley, KSL

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