Schools Address Alleged Threats Originating On Social Media
School districts across the country on Thursday addressed reported threats originating on the social media app TikTok regarding generalized threats to occur today.
School districts at Jamestown and Warren County issued statements regarding the threats. At JPS, the district said it believes the posts originated in Florida before spreading nationally across social media.
“We want to assure parents and students that there is no credible threat to Jamestown, or to our knowledge, any New York state school districts,” JPS said. “We continue to proactively communicate with the Jamestown Police Department as we both monitor this rumor.
“Student safety is always our top priority. JPS is dedicated to maintaining a strong partnership with parents. A key to that partnership is open communication. To that end, JPS will always communicate directly with parents in the case of any rumors we hear that may affect our district.”
Meanwhile, Warren County School District officials say there may be an increase in law enforcement presence in schools today due to the reports of threats.
“The district has been made aware of a national TikTok trend threatening violence at every school in America on Friday, December 17, 2021,” a Thursday afternoon Facebook post explained. “Our understanding is that the original video called for students to skip school on the 17th and, at some point, it was changed to a school shooting threat.”
Warren school officials say that TikTok has since removed the video.
“Law enforcement is aware of the video and we are told that there are currently no known credible threats to schools in Pennsylvania,” the district said. “As a precaution, students and staff may see an increased law enforcement presence on school property tomorrow.”
District officials planned to send out a blast call Thursday with information to students and staff.