Jordan High School in Sandy was evacuated Thursday afternoon after a bomb threat was found written on a bathroom wall inside the building.
After searching the building, police found nothing concerning, and deemed it all clear just before 4 p.m., Sandy Police Sgt. Jason Nielsen said.
The threat is the second found on a bathroom wall at the school this week — and was the more severe of the two, Canyons School District spokesman Jeff Haney said.
Thursday’s threat was discovered just before 2 p.m., prompting school officials to evacuate the building of students, staff and teachers, Haney said. Students who drove themselves to school were allowed to leave campus after checking in as safe, while those who couldn’t immediately find rides were bussed to the Mountain America Expo Center, instead of standing outside, to wait for transportation because of the rain and cold temperatures.
Earlier in the week, officials learned of another message written on a bathroom wall. This one, Haney said, wasn’t as specific or serious as the one found Thursday but could have been interpreted as a threat.
Officials didn’t find that threat — which would have been carried out Wednesday — credible and held school as usual with extra police patrolling the campus “if only to ease the mind of teachers, students and parents," Haney said. About 1,000 students, around half the school’s total enrollment, showed up for classes Wednesday.
Haney didn’t release the wording of the threats, saying it could interfere with the police investigation.
Sandy police are looking into whether the same person wrote both messages.
Canyons School District has dealt with several threats in the past six weeks, Haney said, including threats at Butler Middle School and Brighton High School. All those threats were either made via graffiti or through social media and were later dubbed hoaxes.
Students aren’t scheduled to return to school until Tuesday because of a pre-scheduled planning day for teachers, and school is closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Monday.
Counseling services will be available at Jordan High School on Tuesday for any students experiencing trauma or other “difficult emotions,” Haney said. If students are feeling stressed or anxious over the long weekend, Haney suggested they use the Safe UT mobile app to be connected to services.
Anyone with information about the threats are encouraged to contact Sandy Police Department.
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