Officials on high alert after Payson middle school receives 3 bomb threats

After Mt. Nebo Middle School in Payson was targeted with three bomb threats in less than a month, officials say they are increasing security and federal partners are stepping in to investigate.

The most recent threat was received at around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday and was emailed to a school administrator.

Sgt. Scott Hall with the Payson Police Department said students were evacuated from the building and officials waited for the threat to expire before sending in a team to investigate.

On April 19 and April 23, other threats were communicated to school district employees, law enforcement, and local media outlets — including FOX 13 News.

The threats were unfounded in all three cases, but Hall said they investigated "to the fullest extent."

"It takes a lot of resources but we take every threat seriously and we will investigate every single time," Hall said.

Police previously told FOX 13 News that warrants were served on the origin of the threats and the IP address was outside of the country. Hall could not confirm whether an origin for the threats had been discovered.

Seth Sorenson, a public information officer with the Nebo School District, clarified that the threats did not target any groups of students or individuals, but targeted the school in general.

The threats started after a dress code incident with students at the school that Sorenson said was later resolved.

"Eleven and 12-year-old students sometimes do things that are unusual," the principal said. "Sometimes they’ll show up dressed as an athlete, sometimes they may show up with a headband with ears, which actually was a situation that occurred at Mount Nebo."

Though no students have been injured as a result of the threats, Sorenson said students have felt the impact.

"Student education has definitely been impacted. However, we're committed as a district to maintain a stable situation for all of our students to go to," he said.

As the school and officials move toward the end of the school year, additional adults have been placed throughout the building and an officer has been stationed outside.

"We have additional police presence at the school, we have alarm systems on all of our schools, we also have security cameras — dozens of cameras throughout the school," Sorenson explained. "We can see exactly what's going on in the school at all times."

Additionally, Sorenson encouraged the impacted students and families to utilize the expanded counseling services provided by the school as they grapple with the situation.

"We’re also doing things in our classrooms. Our teachers are having conversations with students about caring for each other and building that sense of community in the school, because they are a school community," Sorenson said.

Now, federal partners are stepping in to help with the investigation, with Hall adding that should a suspect be identified, they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.