Butler Middle and Elementary schools put on secure status

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Butler Middle and Elementary schools were both put on secure status Monday after a person with a weapon was reported nearby.

Canyons School District Public Information Officer Jeff Haney said the incident took place around 11 a.m. when police responded to a nearby skatepark.

The weapon turned out to be an air-soft gun — a teenager took it out of his trunk in the skatepark parking lot to show to his friends, according to the Cottonwood Heights Police Department.

“Air-soft guns look very real. So, we truly appreciate the passerby who reported what they saw to police,” Haney said in a press release.

Haney said the schools were put on secure status at the request of police. Secure status allows classes to continue as normal while nobody is allowed to come or go from the building.

“Secure is a precaution taken to keep staff and students safe indoors while police respond to an incident off campus,” Haney said. “In a secure, all external doors are locked, instruction continues as normal, and students and employees are free to move about the building.”