Tooele City police responded to an armed robbery at Sandy’s Gifts and More on West Vine Street in Tooele City on Tuesday afternoon.
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An armed robbery at Sandy’s Gifts and More, a smoke shop, located at 80 W. Vine Street in Tooele caused five Tooele schools to go under a lockout Tuesday, Oct. 4, afternoon, according to Tooele City police and Tooele County School District offcials..
The robbery took place at 12:30 p.m., when a suspect stole an undisclosed amount of cash from the smoke shop and exited heading west, according to Lt. Jeremy Hansen, public information officer at the Tooele City Police Department.
Because the suspect headed west, Tooele County School District, in conjunction with the Tooele City Police Department, put Northlake and West Elementaries, along with Tooele High School, Tooele Junior High School, and Blue Peak High on lockout.
Parents and guardians of students were notified via email from each school involved and there was no threat to students at the time of the lockout, according to Marie Denson, communications director at the Tooele County School District.
Schools continued to be on lockout until 2:40 p.m.
“As always, thanks to everyone for their patience and ability to remain flexible when there are unexpected schedule changes,” Denson said.
This is still an active investigation. Tooele City police said they don’t believe there is an ongoing threat to the community. As of 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 5. Tooele City police reported that the suspect had not been apprehended.
The Transcript Bulletin will post updates online as more information becomes available.
Please not that while the word “lockdown” is used in the English language to mean “an emergency measure or condition in which people are temporarily prevented from entering or leaving a restricted area or building (such as a school) during a threat of danger (Merriam-Webster),” the terms “lockdown” and “lockout/secure” have specific meanings for Tooele County School District schools, which use standard response protocol developed by the i Love You Guys Foundation.
Secure, formerly known as lockout, is used when there is a threat outside the school building. All students are brought into the building and accounted for in their classroom. Perimeter doors are locked and business continues as usual in classrooms.
A lockdown is generally a response to a threat inside a school building. Classroom doors are locked, lights are turned off, and teachers and students move away from sight and remain quiet.
See standard response protocol.
*** this story was last updated on Oct. 6, 2022 to include new information received from Tooele County School District and update the status of the search for the suspect.
