This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
School officials at Clayton Middle School took "extra precautions" Tuesday to ensure safety after a social media post from a former student alluded to an act of violence.
"Even though we don't think there's going to be anything happening, we have to take every threat seriously," said Salt Lake City School District spokesman Jason Olsen.
The former student had made threats of violence while enrolled at the school, Olsen said, and was later unenrolled for unrelated academic reasons. He recently had posted to social media, mentioning Tuesday's date.
Because the post was so public, Olsen said the school sent parents an email Monday night "explaining that we were aware of the post and that extra precautions would be in place."
Extra precautions included locking the front door of the school — which during normal school days is the only entrance left unlocked — and locking interior doors to class rooms during class time, Olsen said. Additionally, a school resource officer who normally splits the day between several schools was spending the entire day at Clayton Middle School.
The post did not include "specific threats," said Salt Lake City Police Detective Greg Wilking, but school officials and police were "being vigilant" and monitoring the situation.
School administrators and police officers have met with the former student and his family, Olsen said, and are confident the situation is under control. They hope the measures taken in light of the potential threat will help put parents at ease and ensure student safety, he said.
Twitter: @mnoblenews