The man entered the school and told an administrator to evacuate the children and "no one will get hurt." He is now in custody.
The suspect has reportedly been arrested before and identified as Christopher Craig. According to an email sent to the Salt Lake Tribune by Craig, he said he would "call 911 with a threat of an explosive" at the school, with plans to be arrested so that he could conduct a hunger strike in jail.
"Racism is the reason for my hunger strike," the email states, "to take this conversation deeper, to the truth, core and roots."
— GMT (@MayTheGusBWithU) September 19, 2016
— Nick McGurk (@NickMcGurkTV) September 19, 2016
All children are safely off the premises at this time. Nearly 100 kids were escorted from the school grounds out of precaution and the area is currently surrounded by between 85 and 100 officers.
— Eagle Mountain City (@eaglemtncity) September 19, 2016
Calling himself the "Islamist jihadist," Craig is a former college basketball coach who has written threatening letters to area churches in the past.
The incident comes on the heels of a series of attacks in New York and Minnesota over the weekend, which left dozens injured.
