Ogden charter school wasn’t notified about bomb threat, shooting nearby, school says

OGDEN — Parents of children at an Ogden charter school are concerned that their school wasn’t promptly notified by police after a reported bomb threat and a deadly shooting near Ben Lomond High School just days apart.

Richard Squire, lead director for Leadership Learning Academies, said police didn’t notify the Ogden campus about either of the events, despite being just a mile away from Ben Lomond.

Squire said that when he found out about an incident that happened just half a mile away from LLA’s Ogden campus, he had to call the police to get information on what was going on.

Micah Smith, a parent of five children at Leadership Learning Academy, expressed concern about the lack of communication in two separate incidents.

“My biggest concern was not necessarily that it happened the first time because I understand that mistakes happened, things happened, a lack of communication occurred. Okay, let’s fix it,” Smith said. “But then the second incident happened and apparently nothing got fixed.”

Squire said he wishes they were in the loop, so he’s now trying to ensure that happens in the future. He said he was in contact with local police to improve communication.

“I have reached out to our local law enforcement officers and we’re in conversations currently on creating protocols and making sure that we, or any other school for that matter, is not forgotten,” Squire said.

He said that improved communication would help inform decisions about how to react and keep students safe when a threat or violence occurs nearby.

KSL reached out to the city of Ogden for comment, but had not yet heard back.