During a noon press briefing, Capt. Tim Scott of the Ogden City Police Department gave an update on the situation at Ben Lomond which remained active as of the briefing time with law enforcement continuing to clear spaces in the school.

“Today, at 8:39 a.m., we received a report of a bomb threat at Ben Lomond High School,” he said. “With that, our school resource officer was on scene at the time and began responding to that particular bomb threat. … Our biggest priority in this situation with the Ogden School District is student safety. We were able to clear the students from that building almost immediately and then the process of reunification has taken some time.”

He said the students were quickly evacuated, all accounted for with no injuries reported and moved to a pre-planned safe area for reunification with parents. Families of the students were reportedly notified by direct communications from the Ogden School District. The reunification process was still under way as of noon.

“We’re investigating this, not as a hoax, but as an actual school safety threat,” Scott said. “I believe we are beyond the scale of a hoax at this point in time, which historically, we’ve had in the past.”

Scott was unable to provide specific details that led investigators to the conclusion that the threat was legitimate as the investigation is ongoing. The Ogden City Police Department response included its drone team, K9 officers and SWAT team.

He was unable to confirm whether any type of explosives have been found.

“That’s not information that I have right now, but there was a reported device,” he said. “There is investigative information that we have that tells us this is not a hoax, that we actually did have an active threat at the school and we’re still trying to mitigate that threat.”

Scott said there have been no arrests made as of noon and that the original threat came through the department’s 911 dispatch center.

“We do have good leads of the individual or individuals responsible,” he said. “That’s something our investigators are following up on.”

He was unable to say whether the suspect parties might be students or adults.

Scott added a press release would be sent out later in the afternoon with further updates on the situation.

Ogden School District Superintendent Luke Rasmussen, who was also part of the noon press conference, praised the Ben Lomond High School students and staff for their cooperation in the face of an adverse situation.

“They were actually fantastic during this whole situation,” he said. “They followed, they complied, they did everything that we asked them to do. We practice these drills regularly, we practice these situations and they acted better than I could ever hope for. Staff was awesome and they did such a great job.”

He extended this praise to the first responders on the scene.

“We have such a good relationship with Ogden City Police and Fire Department,” he said. “We collaborate together. They were fantastic in their response.”

Rasmussen said nearby East Ridge Elementary School initiated a “Secure” status as a precaution and officers were sent ot Highland Junior High, also as a precaution.

According to a press release from the Ogden School District sent around 1:30 p.m. Thursday, school will resume at Ben Lomond High School as normal on Friday.

“Classes and activities will resume as scheduled at all locations tomorrow,” the release said. “We ask that all people respect the need of our students and employees to experience a return to normalcy, free from any disruptions or intrusions.”

The release noted that resources will be available to students.

“We also recognize that situations like this can create mental and emotional stress for students, staff, and families,” the release said. “The district has counselors and resources available to assist any student or employee who may need support processing this event.”

Ogden City Fire Department also responded to the scene on Thursday. The public is also being asked to continue avoiding the area until the scene is fully cleared.

This story will be updated as additional information becomes available.