A bomb threat Thursday prompted the evacuation of Ben Lomond High School and a search of the facility and its grounds.
Whether the threat was legitimate or a hoax is “still ultimately to be determined,” said Ogden Police Capt. Tim Scott. But he said information authorities learned after the initial call to Weber County dispatchers reporting a bomb “essentially required us to respond in the manner we responded. We’re treating this as an active school threat.”
All students had been cleared out of the high school as of noon, with the rest of classes canceled for the day. Ogden School District Superintendent Luke Rasmussen said classes at the school would resume on Friday, according to Scott.
“Ben Lomond High School is a large campus and ... our No. 1 priority at school is student safety, so we want to make sure that the school is clear and that it’s safe for students,” Scott said. A SWAT team from the police department was aiding in the search, along with Ogden Fire Department personnel, K-9 teams and a drone team.
Still, Scott downplayed the potential of a broader, lingering threat, though the investigation continues.
“If we felt that there was a community threat, we would have communicated that to the community. We don’t believe there’s any kind of immediate threat around the school,” he said.
Moreover, it’s too early to provide any details about the potential culprit. It’s “not so much too early to know on our end, because we are working on things right now. But it’s too early to release,” he said.
In March 2023, Ogden High School and several other Utah schools were targeted by a series of phone calls, ultimately deemed to be hoaxes, by callers falsely reporting that active shooters were in the facilities. Police and law enforcement quickly descended on Ogden High School, carrying out a search, as students remained locked in their classrooms.
The police response is similar whenever a school faces a threat, Scott said, but “I wouldn’t say there’s any connection or similarities between the two events.”
‘See something, say something’
The threatening call directed at Ben Lomond High School came into Weber County dispatchers at 8:39 a.m. Thursday. An Ogden Police Department school resource officer at the school immediately began coordinating with school and school district officials to clear students, according to Scott.
Two nearby schools — Eastridge Elementary School and Highland Junior High School — were placed on lockdown, but students weren’t evacuated from the facilities. Police were sent to Highland “because specific information was developed that needed our presence at that school,” Scott said.
In a statement later Thursday, Ogden School District echoed some of Scott’s comments.
“It was not immediately known whether the threat was credible, but because of our commitment to safety, all threats are treated very seriously. The school and district acted immediately to enact emergency response protocols in coordination with law enforcement,” the district statement reads. Students were “relocated by bus” as part of the evacuation and eventually reunited with their parents.
Situations like Thursday’s turn of events can take an emotional toll, the statement continues, and counselors will be available to help students and staff. Officials also emphasized the importance of reporting unusual occurrences.
“We remind the community of our safety motto: ‘See Something, Say Something.’ Anonymous tips can be submitted 24/7 via the SafeUT website, hotline or mobile app," the statement reads.