Four schools in the St. George area went into a “secure” status Tuesday after the St. George Police Department received a threatening phone call directed at Desert Hills High School, prompting a swift and tightly coordinated response across the neighborhood.
At Desert Hills High and nearby Desert Hills Middle, staff kept students inside classrooms with doors locked. At Bloomington Hills Elementary and the adjacent preschool, limited activity continued while exterior doors stayed secured. Police described the move as a precaution while officers checked reported activity in the Desert Hills neighborhood and worked to make sure the threat stayed outside school walls.
According to KSL, St. George police received the call and asked that all four campuses go into a "secure alert" while officers responded in the Desert Hills area. KSL reported that Desert Hills High and Desert Hills Middle held students in classrooms with doors locked, while Bloomington Hills Elementary and the district preschool focused on keeping doors secured as a precaution. The outlet updated its story shortly after it went live as new details came in during the police response.
What 'secure' means
According to the Washington County School District, a "secure" status is used when a threat is outside the building. In that scenario, exterior and main interior doors are locked, regular classroom activity continues, and staff clear hallways while staying ready to escalate to an evacuation or a full lockdown if needed. District guidance notes that secure events are designed to protect students from outside threats and that parents should receive a message explaining that classroom doors were locked while instruction continued. The same flip chart also outlines reunification procedures if students must be released from a separate site.
Campuses Affected
The four campuses placed on secure alert were Desert Hills High School, Desert Hills Middle School, Bloomington Hills Elementary, and the Bloomington Hills preschool, all located in St. George's Desert Hills and Bloomington Hills neighborhoods. KSL reported that officers were searching the area around the high school while the secure status remained in place. School officials told the station they stayed in close coordination with police as the situation developed.
School and district response
School staff followed district emergency procedures, and the district notes that it maintains a reunification plan and school resource officers at secondary campuses. Desert Hills High lists the school's emergency contact information and points families to the district reunification resources used when a controlled parent pick-up becomes necessary. District spokespeople said they would continue to push updates through official school and district channels as officers wrapped up their checks.
Advice for families
The district's messaging guidance urges parents to hold off on heading to campus unless they are specifically directed to do so, since reunification points may be set up away from the school to keep traffic from clogging the emergency response. Washington County School District explains that students will only be released to authorized guardians who present identification at a designated reunification site. For immediate updates, families are directed to monitor official school and district channels and use the school phone number listed on the Desert Hills site.
St. George police said Tuesday that the investigation was still ongoing and asked anyone with information that might help to contact the department. This story will be updated as officials release additional details.
