'Potentially' dangerous homemade device found by student in Pine View High School
(KUTV) - 17-year-old, Jack Whalen, a student at Pine View High School and his two friends were walking through the hallway Monday afternoon before lunch time and saw a bag that had smoke coming out of it sitting on the ground beside the vending machines.
“I could smell a smoke smell and my friends actually saw it before I did,” Whalen said and continued to explain that he looked inside the smoking bag.
“That [canister] was round, really fat, and it had a little lid on it.”
When Whalen and his friends saw this bag they went for help and told a teacher and school resource officer. Shortly after the entire campus of 1,100 students were evacuated Monday afternoon and told to gather at the football field of the school and await further instruction.
“I can confirm that there was an object in the backpack that had the potential to injure persons or damage property,” Captain Mike Giles with St. George Police told 2News on Monday.
St. George Police are investigating right now and Giles said they are currently questioning a person of interest.
“That person was authorized to be on campus for coursework,” Giles said.
Right now the investigation continues and Giles said they are working with multiple agencies, even the FBI, to have closure in this case.
The Washington County School District tweeted out Monday just hours after the incident saying “Pine View High School anticipates a normal school day and bell schedule on Tuesday, March 6th, 2018."
For any further updates on the school: www.washk12.org
