A little more than two weeks after the deadly school shooting in Michigan that left 5 students dead, an anonymous threat made on TikTok about multiple school shootings made the US school districts go on high alert. A video is doing rounds on Tiktok, claiming that multiple school shootings would take place in the US on Friday. The said video is also being reported as a 'challenge' on TikTok.
As a result, numerous schools across the nation have increased security and issued letters to parents as a precaution. Authorities, however, have declared the threat to be fake. The official Baltimore County Public Schools Twitter account informed in a tweet Thursday that the threat originated in Arizona. "Law enforcement agencies have investigated this threat and determined that is not credible," the tweet read.
A letter by the deputy superintendent of Wisconsin's Waukesha School District obtained by Fox 6 Milwaukee stressed that parents must discuss this with their children. "We take all threats seriously and any threats against the school or district will be disciplined to the greatest extent possible, up to and including expulsion from school," the letter further noted.
The Waukesha School District superintendent further explained that the threats made on TikTok were not specifically aimed at the school district.
School shootings reported in 2021 so far: 32
According to reports by Education Week, 32 incidents of school shootings had been reported in the US in 2021 as of late November. The year prior, however, saw only 10 school shootings. As a result of the increase of school shootings and the threats of the same, school heads are urging parents to immediately report any and all signs of threats, disturbing or alarming behavior in children.
Increased police presence around the schools
According to the New York Post, after the TikTok threat went viral, certain school districts were flooded with calls from concerned parents. "Many of our schools are being inundated with parent calls this morning asking about these latest threats and their validity," Florida's Citrus County School District said in a tweet. The district, however, noted that they have not received any 'credible threat' to any of their schools as of Thursday morning.
The Scottsdale Unified School District of Arizona also noted that the TikTok threats directed for Friday are not credible. The schools, however, are taking safety precautions anyway. Fox News reported that there was an increased police presence on and around their campuses Thursday and Friday. Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol of New York also noted that the schools in the area will have an increased police presence on Friday.
