Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
TAYLORSVILLE — Two people, including a 16-year-old student, were arrested for allegedly bringing a gun into the parking lot of Taylorsville High School and filming threats on Snapchat.
Eduard Banuelos Trujillo, 22, and his teen brother were each arrested for investigation of possessing a gun on school property and threat of violence. The elder Trujillo was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail. He was also arrested for investigation of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The teen was booked into Salt Lake Juvenile Detention.
On Tuesday, Trujillo drove his 16-year-old brother to Taylorsville High, 5225 S. Redwood Road. While in the parking lot on the east side of the school, Trujillo gave a handgun to his younger brother so he could "flex," according to a Salt Lake County Jail report. Unified Police Sgt. Melody Gray said the boy posed with the gun while his brother recorded it on Snapchat.
The teen put the handgun in his lap and video recorded students leaving the school while he was making comments such as "Never laggin'," the jail report states.
The teen later told police 'never laggin' means "you are either 'strapped or packing a gun, or you're laggin','" according to the report.
Gray said those recordings were posted on Snapchat.
"(The teen) zoomed onto two females exiting the school. (He) acted with the intent or express or implied the threat of shooting a student or multiple students with the handgun provided by Eduard," the report states. "
Several students and parents who saw the videos on Snapchat reported them to the principal, who in turn told the school resource officer, Gray said.
By about 4:30 p.m., Unified police had located Trujillo's vehicle and pulled it over. Both Trujillo and his brother were in the car and arrested, Gray said.
Later that evening, the school sent a letter to all students and their families informing them of the incident.
"We want to reassure students and parents that there is no threat and that school will proceed as normal tomorrow," the letter stated. "This is a sobering reminder that parents should secure firearms and other weapons in their homes to ensure that minors do not have access to those items."
The letter also encouraged parents to monitor their child's social media activity.
"We are grateful for the students and parents who alerted us regarding this issue. And it's an unfortunate reminder that parents need to secure their firearms and monitor their student's social media," Granite School District spokesman Ben Horsley reiterated.
The juvenile is also subject to penalties under the district's Safe Schools policy, in addition to criminal charges.
