Teen charged after allegedly threatening to blow up Kearns High

Police • Twitter message leads to soft lockdown of school.
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Kearns High went into a "soft" lockdown Thursday after a student posted a message on Twitter threatening to blow up the school, police said.

The 17-year-old student has been charged in 3rd District Juvenile Court with one felony count of making a terroristic threat, said Unified Police Lt. Justin Hoyal.

Hoyal said the police department received an anonymous call from someone who had seen the student's social media account.

"This student had posted that he was going to blow up Kearns High School … and there were pictures of explosives," Hoyal said. "Although no malicious intent, but joking aside, he's looking at serious charges for a joke."

Granite School District spokesman Ben Horsley said Kearns High was briefly on a soft lockdown, which meant no one could enter or exit the school.

A Kearns school resource officer verified the Twitter threat. Afterward, the student was found outside school at a restaurant, Horsley said.

"We have to take these threats seriously for students' safety," Hoyal said.

rparker@sltrib.com

Twitter: @rayutah