SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah — A South Jordan man is accused of sending text messages in which he talked about committing a school shooting and using a 3D printed gun to kill people.
According to a search warrant affidavit, 23-year-old Austin James David West sent text messages on August 7 about a plan to commit a shooting at Broadview Entertainment Arts University (BEAU) to another student.
An example of a 3D printed gun. | Cropped Photo: Vvzvlad / Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0
“The suspect stated people would be talking about the BEAU shooting,” the affidavit said. “The text messages sent by the suspect reference killing people with a 3D printed gun so the gun could not be traced back to him.”
The school’s dean received word of the alleged threat “which caused the University Dean to be fearful that a school shooting was actually going to take place,” a statement of probable cause said.
South Salt Lake Police arrested West on August 8 on two counts of threat of violence, a class B misdemeanor.
Court documents show one of the charges was dismissed Monday.
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