PAYSON, Utah — A student with a firearm was taken into custody Monday after allegedly bringing the weapon onto the campus of Payson Junior High School.
The Nebo School District said a report came in just before lunch that a student was in possession of a gun.
"We had students come to the office and report that there was a student who had brought a firearm to school. They reported that to the administration," said Seth Sorensen, a public information officer with the Nebo School District.
Within a matter of minutes, the School Resource Officer and other school officials were able to locate the unidentified student and secure the weapon.
Because of how quickly the student was taken into custody, the school was not placed on lockdown.
"Typically, in this situation where it didn't appear immediately that it was an imminent threat, they did not place the school in lockdown. Instead, they immediately addressed the student in question," said Sorensen.
Sorensen told FOX 13 News on Monday that if there had been an imminent threat, they would have responded differently.
"They would have placed the building into lockdown, they would have responded differently with different resources, they would have also immediately communicated to all of our first responders to make them aware of the situation," said Sorensen.
The district has not said what kind of firearm was brought to the school, but police are currently investigating the incident.
"We appreciate the patience and understanding of our school community," Principal Kevin Mecham wrote on social media. "A big thank you to our students for 'seeing something and saying something.'"
FOX 13 News asked Sorensen if there would be any additional security measures at the school on Tuesday. He said he couldn't talk specifically about protocols, just for safety issues. However, he did say they are on a heightened state of alert at the school.
NORTHERN UTAH
