Teen brings handgun into West high School

SALT LAKE CITY – A West High School student is taken into custody by police after he was caught with a gun on campus.  Educators say even if the student didn’t intend to hurt anyone, it caused quite a scare among faculty members.

Administrators found out about the nine-millimeter handgun shortly after the beginning of the school day.  One student learned that a teenage boy had it on him.

“That student alerted a teacher who then alerted the school resource officers and the school administration,” according to Salt Lake City School District Spokesperson Yandary Chatwin.

Fortunately, none of the students were being targeted and the school wasn’t under any kind of threat.

“When he was taken into custody, the weapon was not loaded but he did have ammunition on his person,” says Chatwin, adding, “The student indicated he was holding the weapon for someone else.”

The ninth-grader wouldn’t say who he was carrying the weapon for.

She says this particular case was resolved because a student felt comfortable opening up to a teacher about what they saw.  However, there are other students that wouldn’t have spoken to faculty members.

“In situations where a student might not feel comfortable sharing information like that with a teacher or a principal, there are resources like the Safe UT app.”