The choir, band and orchestra’s final performances of the school year were scheduled to begin at 6:30. Students were arriving and inside the Eccles Center around 6 p.m. when some overheard others saying there was a man with a gun outside the building.
Park City Police Lt. Jay Randall said police received a call and responded to the high school. They determined that a man had been discussing the Second Amendment with students and raised his shirt to show them that he was carrying a gun. Randall said the conduct was not criminal.
“Officers responded after being made aware that – not sure exactly how they put it - as essentially somebody that was there protesting may have a gun," Randall said. "And so officers responded based on the fact that there was a gun that somebody witnessed. Based on that they conducted a full investigation and determined that the individual that did have the gun had the gun legally and did not brandish the weapon.”
Randall did not identify or confirm who had the gun, but KPCW learned the incident involved Parkite Michael Franchek, who is currently running for Summit County Council.
Franchek confirmed he was at the high school and inside its lobby Wednesday night. He said he was there to interview Representative Blake Moore and engage in political discourse.
Franchek declined to comment on his interaction with students on Kearns other than to say he is a firearms expert and teaches gun safety to children.
A parent of a student in the concert said her son reported being locked down in the band room for a short time before the concert began about 10 minutes late.
Randall said the police department was not aware of the building going into lockdown. He also said the students who called the police did the right thing.
“You know obviously the most important thing is our children's safety and that's why officers responded the way they did and took immediate action to determine whether or not there was a threat or danger to the children or to the facility,” he said.
Mike Tanner, chief operating officer for the school district, confirmed that the Eccles staff prepared to lock down the theater by locking the stage and band room doors for about six minutes before police determined that there was no threat.