Students’ Tips Help Police Thwart West Jordan School Threats

WEST JORDAN, Utah — Officials with the West Jordan Police Department said students reporting troubling social media posts to the SafeUT app allowed them to intervene and arrest one student before any threats presented themselves Friday.

“Once you put it on social media, you don’t get to control how broader how narrow the audiences and I guess the upside to that is that a lot of kids saw it,” said West Jordan Cheif of Police Ken Wallentine. “Students were concerned about their fellow students and they thought perhaps they could save a life.”

Police said a fight broke out between two students Thursday at Sunset Ridge Middle School. When one of the students posted threats on social media, other students reported the threats of violence they saw on the SafeUT app. This action allowed police to intervene.

Parents at both Sunset Ridge Middle School and Copper Hills High School said they were worried Friday.

“It’s terrifying because automatically as parents we just fear the worst. It’s just very scary,” said parent Lisa Buchanan.

A 15-year-old Copper Hills High School student was arrested at his home Thursday night and police said he’ll be referred to the juvenile court system for prosecution.

Police said the SafeUT app is an excellent resource — and parents agreed.

“I know a lot of the kids don’t want to tattletale but it’s a good resource for them to have that because we all know what can happen when they’re not notified,” said Wendy Ly, a parent of a Sunset Ridge Middle School student. “So, I’m glad that they have that.”

Buchanan said she was thankful that no one was hurt.

“It does feel like a good outcome that they took care of it quickly,” she said.

Police said there was no ongoing threat at either school Friday and that incidents like these are cautionary tales: if you see something, say something. They are grateful that, in this case, someone did.