Uintah High School student arrested in connection with smoke bomb incident

VERNAL — An assembly broken up by smoke bombs Wednesday morning resulted in the arrest of a 16-year-old Uintah High School student.

An assembly at the school had just ended about 9 a.m. when three canister-style smoke bombs were ignited, according to the Uintah County Sheriff's Office. Two of the devices were thrown into the seating area of the auditorium, and the other was thrown down an aisle.

More than 1,110 students were evacuated from the school. No one was injured, though several students complaints of smoke inhalation, Uintah County Sheriff's Cpl. Brian Fletcher said. One student's shoe was burned by the smoke bomb, and areas of the auditorium floor were damaged.

A teacher overheard a conversation between a student and one of his friends during the evacuation that led the teacher to detain the student and call the sheriff's office.

Deputies found two other smoke bombs that had not been ignited outside the auditorium during a sweep of the building. Investigators say the incident was likely a prank.

The 16-year-old student was booked into the Uintah County Juvenile Detention Center for investigation of aggravated arson, criminal mischief and assault.

— Jared Page