CEDAR CITY — A teenager was taken into custody after assaulting one Canyon View High School student and pointing a gun at four others last Monday. Parents and community members have since questioned how the incident was handled. New information continues to come to light, including a call to dispatch early Tuesday morning, reporting concerns that the student “is going to shoot up the school.”
The public first learned of the situation on Feb. 28 in a news release issued by the Cedar City Police Department.
But after hearing concerns from parents and community members, Police Chief Darin Adams shared a timeline of events at last Wednesday’s Cedar City Council meeting.
“Information was limited due to the fact that it was an active investigation,” he said. “As a result, the initial press release created questions and caused concern. I understand and apologize for any concern that may have been felt by our citizens — especially students and parents. Responsibility for yesterday’s press release is mine.”
On Feb. 27, a student at Canyon View High School told school resource officer Matthew Carpenter about an incident where another teen appeared to point a gun at him while driving out of the parking lot between 12:20-12:30 p.m., Adams said.
Initially, police reported that the suspect pointed the firearm at four students. No injuries were reported and the suspect left the area shortly after. The reporting student wanted no further involvement with the investigation, Adams said.
“Officer Carpenter, without the cooperation and assistance from the student, began his investigation with very limited information,” he said.
Carpenter reviewed the school’s surveillance footage and found a potential identity for the suspect, Adams said. Later, two students reported that someone physically assaulted another teenager, who was later found in the parking lot. The suspect again left the scene.
After determining that the same teenager was involved in both incidents, Adams said an investigation commenced “with a plan to meet with the student and his parent the next morning. This was a mutual agreement for all involved parties.”
Initial reports stated Carpenter had informed Canyon View High principal Dennis Heaton about the two incidents by this time. But a recent news release from the Iron County School District states that this occurred after school ended.
“Law enforcement advised that the suspect was no longer on school grounds and that the report of a presence of a gun was not verified,” the release adds.
Last Thursday, police informed district officials of a dispatch call regarding a potential threat to the school that was received at approximately 12:14 a.m. on Feb. 28, according to the release.
“The suspect had been in custody for two days when school and district administrators learned of the dispatch call,” the release states.
A family member of the student who initially reported the suspect appearing to point a firearm at him contacted the police, reiterating the teen’s story and expressing concern that the suspect was “going to shoot up the school,” Adams wrote in a news release.
“The provided information was vague and, after (an) investigation, was found to not be credible,” he wrote. “Without a credible threat, we did not want to instill an unnecessary fear or concern. With that said, officers were vigilant and acted out of a sense of safety to ensure the school and students were safe and protected.”
The information was sent to Carpenter, who contacted three additional school resource officers and three patrol officers early Tuesday morning, Adams wrote. Five uniformed police officers were stationed in and around the school before classes began, with some remaining after surveillance of the suspect was established.
“Based on the lack of credibility of the threat, the decision was made not to initiate a school lockdown without further credible information,” he wrote.
Carpenter later obtained physical evidence indicating the suspect possessed a firearm and gained the cooperation of the original reporting student. And police began surveillance of the suspect’s home, Adams said.
Between 12:30 and 12:55, police learned that the teen shared threats against the school on social media. Due to his proximity to several schools, Fiddler’s Elementary School, Canyon View Middle School and Canyon View High School were locked down, Adams said.
A search warrant was issued and law enforcement took the teen into custody shortly after 1 p.m., following which the lockdown order was lifted. It lasted approximately 15 minutes.
The multiagency effort was undertaken by the Cedar City Police Department, Iron County Sheriff’s Office, Utah Highway Patrol and Iron Metro SWAT team.
Following last Wednesday’s Cedar City Council meeting, where several parents and community members expressed concern about how the incident was handled, both the police department and school district have announced that they will consider adjustments to current policies and procedures.
Adams wrote that he would meet with the school board and district officials on Monday to “begin discussing where we can improve and make necessary changes.”
“I want the public to know that I am dedicated to doing all I can to ensure the Cedar City Police Department does everything we can to protect our students and citizens,” he wrote.
Additionally, Iron County Sheriff Ken Carpenter told Cedar City News that the incident at Canyon View High School could be related to two recent drive-by shootings in Cedar City that resulted in the arrest of six individuals.
“The juvenile that was arrested in the Canyon View (incident) we believe is tied to this case as well,” Carpenter said. “We recovered a 9-millimeter pistol from his house, which we believe was the pistol that was used in the first drive-by shooting.”
This is a developing story.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
Updated, March 5, 2023, at 6:41 p.m.: Additional information from various news releases from the Cedar City Police Department and Iron County School District has been added
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