SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah — A Saratoga Springs High School announced that there would be an increased police presence at a homecoming dance Saturday following alleged threats of violence by a student that surfaced online.
According to an email sent to parents and students by the administration of West Lake High School, the FBI discovered a post online Saturday that described how a suspect wanted to injure students.
“The posting wasn’t specific about how or where the threat would take place, but generally a statement of hurting classmates,” the email stated.
Officials with the Saratoga Springs Police Department said that an individual in Missouri saw a Reddit user making threats to a school, and contacted the FBI. The FBI then tracked down the person’s IP address, which was located in Saratoga Springs.
The juvenile suspect was a male West Lake High School Student, officials said.
The email said that because the high school had a scheduled homecoming dance Saturday evening, the school and the Saratoga Springs Police Department would take extra precautions as students enter the dance.
“We will also have extra police presence, and there will be increased police patrols in the area for precautionary reasons,” the email said.
Details regarding the nature of the threat, or the identity of the suspected student were not released by the Westlake High School Administration.
Alpine School District released the following statement on the incident:
“We are grateful law enforcement in Saratoga Springs worked to resolve a concern they identified as a threat on social media. They notified the school principal of WHS this afternoon.
Although the local law enforcement feel the concern has been lifted, they will have additional police presence at the Homecoming Dance this evening.
We encourage anyone who might have information concerning any safety issue to please notify school administration through email or by using the SafeUT app.”
