Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Residents in West Valley City are alarmed by a neighbor openly carrying firearms.
- Parents are particularly concerned after the man appeared at a school bus stop.
- A legal analyst states the man is within legal rights; police will monitor the situation.
WEST VALLEY CITY — Residents in a West Valley City neighborhood say a neighbor has been parading around the neighborhood with a semiautomatic rifle and a handgun for weeks and worry the situation could escalate.
Residents like Dionne Sandall say what started with a neighbor concerned about speeding cars in August has gradually intensified.
"He took it to the extent of getting a radar gun and clocking neighbors," Sandall said. "One specific day, he was just standing out on the corner with his gun, just standing there."
Sandall said the neighbor started walking around the neighborhood with his semiautomatic rifle. Then, twice this week, he showed up at a Diamond Ridge Elementary School bus stop where dozens of children gathered.
"I mean, I can't imagine the kids that got on that bus crying yesterday," Sandall said. "One of the other moms showed me a picture of her daughter crying before she got on the bus and that just, that broke my heart."
Concerned parents said the man doesn't have children who ride on that specific bus, and multiple moms confronted him.
West Valley City police said they could do nothing as the man was within his rights and hadn't broken the law. KSL legal analyst Greg Skordas said Utah is an open-carry state, where anyone can openly carry a firearm as long as they do so safely.
"Carrying a gun at your side is one thing, but brandishing it certainly creates a bigger problem," Skordas said. "And I know that doesn't really answer the question or help the citizens when a person is carrying a firearm near their children, but the Second Amendment really gives tremendous rights to gun owners to carry their firearms."
Sandall and other parents are concerned the situation will spiral out of control.
"When will he take it too far?" Sandall asked. "It's not a matter of if — a lot of parents are scared it's a matter of when."
The Granite School District told KSL-TV they are monitoring the situation closely. The school's vice principal rode on the bus home with the elementary school-aged children earlier this week.
For the rest of the week, police patrols will be on the school bus. They said the man had not made any direct threats to the school or students.
