School officials and police investigate threat made toward Kearns High

KEARNS, Utah — Granite School District officials reassured parents that a photo post suggesting a threat toward Kearns High School was “unsubstantiated.”

“The unsubstantiated threat involves a generic photo that does NOT appear to be related to any Granite School District school or Kearns High in any way,” read a Facebook message posted by the district to the Kearns Township Facebook group on Sunday. “Regardless, we take every potential threat very seriously and continue to investigate this matter.”

However, on Monday morning, the school district provided an update post clarifying that the photo did originate from Kearns High but there is no credible threat toward the school.

“After further investigation, it was determined that this photo did originate from Kearns High, but it appears that the message was written several weeks ago and shared on a limited basis among some students,” stated an updated Facebook post.

The school district’s post said the Unfiled Police Department is investigating the threat and identified several students involved with the original post.

According to the Granite School District, the students involved may face criminal charges and discipline from the school.

The school district finished its update by reminding parents to monitor their children’s social media usage and report any suspicious activity they see.

“Parents, this is an untenable situation, and we need your help. We have parents that are afraid to send their children to school when they see posts such as this, but on the other hand are also afraid to restrict access to Snapchat and other social media platforms designed specifically with the intent of hiding information from parents. It’s clear that our students do not understand the implications of their social media use and are unable to do so without parents monitoring their use. Please be proactive in monitoring your children’s social media use and report any suspicious posts or behavior to school administration and law enforcement immediately. These threats cause needless panic and concern for our students and their families.

Student safety is always our primary concern, and we will always address every tip very seriously and enact district safety protocols and involve police as appropriate. Thank you for your patience and support while we work to keep our students safe.”