Police: Suspect in Pine View bomb threat connected to ISIS incident at Hurricane High

A male high school student has been arrested for manufacturing, possessing, and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction after Pine View High students spotted a "suspicious backpack" on campus.

St. George Police Department officers also believe the suspect is connected to vandalizing Hurricane High School last month by replacing the school's American flag with an ISIS flag and painting "ISIS is comi—" on one of its exterior walls with graffiti.

According to a Police Department news release, members of the FBI, Washington County Bomb Squad, Washington County Sheriff's Office, Washington County School District, and a bomb-detecting K-9 responded to Pine View at around 12:20 on Monday after a student noticed a backpack in a common area on campus that appeared to be smoking.

The student notified a teacher and the school resource officer on duty.

"After examining the device, bomb squad members indicated that if it had detonated, the device had the potential to cause significant injury or death," according to the news release.

Pine View was evacuated that afternoon while officials investigated the contents of the backpack and determined it had the potential to cause significant harm, and the device was disarmed.

A warrant was eventually executed on the home of the individual in question, who attended classes at Pine View.

St. George police discovered materials inside his residence that were consistent with those used to build the device that was placed on Pine View's campus. According to police, it was a failed attempted to detonate a homemade explosive at the school.

The search warrant also revealed the student had been researching information about ISIS and promoting the organization online.

According to the news release, the Hurricane City Police Department plans to file charges for the suspect's reported involvement in the ISIS-related vandalism on Feb. 15. As of Tuesday afternoon, the juvenile is being held on the sole charge stemming from the Pine View High school incident.

"We'd like to recognize and thank the students who notified faculty and the school resource officer of the suspicious backpack," the St. George Police Department news release read. "Their immediate action played a large role in this incident ending with no injuries."

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