SALT LAKE CITY — Highland High School in Salt Lake City was placed on "secure alert" after guns were found in the backpacks of two brothers who are students at the school on Monday.
The school district said that during a bag search conducted by school leaders as part of a separate, unrelated criminal investigation, a weapon was found in one of the student's backpack.
A school resource officer then contacted the second student and found another gun in their backpack.
According to the Salt Lake City Police Department, the brothers brought the guns to school as a "status symbol" and that no threats were made.
"What is good here is that our officers were able to work with the administration and get these guns out of their hands," said Sgt. Mark Wian.
Both students were detained and will be booked into a Salt Lake County Juvenile Detention Center.
Salt Lake City police give briefing on guns found at high school below:
As a precaution, the school was placed on "Secure Alert" as officers searched the school and neighborhood. That order has since been lifted and classes are continuing as normal.
"Secure Alert" measure means all students and staff were secured inside the school and outside doors were locked.
Police did not provide information on the criminal investigation that led to the original search that found the first gun.
In his police briefing, Wian stressed to parents that they should continually talk to their children about guns and the dangers of bringing weapons to school.
"Continue to have open dialogue and conversations with your children at home. Have good, candid conversations about what's right from wrong. Obviously, avoid anything that would resort to violence. Talk about gun safety, proper gun storage and proper gun usage."
