15-year-old arrested in connection with Cedar High School threats

Law enforcement officers respond to a reported bomb threat at Cedar High School, Cedar City, Utah, Dec. 7, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — Authorities have arrested a 15-year-old male suspected of making false telephone threats that put Cedar High School into a lockdown twice on successive days.

The announcement of the arrest came Tuesday evening just hours after the second phoned-in threat in two days sent the school into a Level 2 lockdown while officers searched the building.

The two hoax 911 calls to Cedar Communications dispatch center were each made in the early afternoon but were somewhat different, with Monday’s being a bomb threat and Tuesday’s claiming there was a masked gunman on campus.

However, they were similar enough that police suspected both calls had been made by the same person. 

As Cedar City Police investigators followed up on leads and evidence, they determined the cell phone used to make the calls had been reported stolen, according to a news release sent out by Cedar City Police Department Tuesday evening.

“Investigators reviewed video evidence and received information from the cell phone provider to narrow the search to a single suspect,” the release added.

The juvenile suspect was subsequently arrested and taken to a youth correctional center, where he faces multiple charges, including second-degree felony abuse of 911 for the bomb threat, third-degree felony abuse of 911 for the gunman threat, and misdemeanor theft.

Police say that while they do not believe there is any danger posed to the students or to the public, additional officers will be posted at the school tomorrow for added security.

“After interviewing the suspect, we want assure the public there remain no valid threats, no public safety risk, and Cedar High School will resume classes as normal tomorrow,” the statement added.

Cedar City Police also thanked Iron County School District, the Cedar High School staff, and all the responding agencies that assisted with both incidents.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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