Utah is seeing more guns in schools

SALT LAKE CITY — In the past month there have been reports of students bringing guns in schools, most recently in Highland High School.

Ben Horsley, Chief of Staff for the Granite School District, joined the Dave and Dujanovic Show to discuss the recent incidents, and if we are seeing a trend of higher incidents in the past few years.

Gun presence in schools increases

According to Horsley, there has been an increase in firearms being brought to schools recently.

“Pre-COVID, single digits annually we would find weapons located on school property… Post-COVID, those numbers have hit double digits and it’s frightening,” said Horsley

In the past school year, Ben says around two dozen weapons were located throughout the Granite School District, he believes there has been a behavior change in kids. The different behaviors he is noticing are mostly in kids who did not participate in at-home learning during COVID and have poor school attendance.

New weapon detection system

Horsley also spoke about a new weapon detection system at some schools, with overwhelming success.

“We have started taking and piloting a program with weapons detection at Hunter High School. We tested that all through this last spring and we’re reviewing data, parent surveys, and student surveys,” according to Horsley.

He reminded Dave and Dujanovic that parents and students have access to the free SafeUT app, where you can make anonymous reports of safety concerns. 

“Whether it’s a weapon or any other sort of dangerous issue, please report it to somebody if you don’t feel comfortable doing it in person,” Horsley said when speaking about the app. 

Parents and students can use the app to report any sort of unsafe behavior, such as cyberbullying or an off-campus fight. 

Related reading: 

• Two high school students arrested after allegedly bringing firearms on Highland High campus
• Student found with unloaded gun at Tooele Junior High
• AI used to detect guns and keep schools safe during shooting situations