Schools around the US have established extra safety precautions on Friday following a viral TikTok trend threatening violence on campuses on December 17.
According to Syracuse. com , the warning (also called a “challenge”) has been described as “National Shoot Up Your School Day. ” Because no specific school district has been named, parents, students, and faculty around the country are on high alert.
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While the original threat, which allegedly encourages violence at schools, cannot be identified at this time, numerous users have addressed the news and their fear of heading to school in separate videos. One person expressed:
“Idk if this is true or not but apparently there is a threat on December 17 2021, schools in America are going to have a school shooting or bombing. ”
Another person wrote:
“[Once] again idk if this is true but if it is, stay safe. My mom called and told me so I looked it up… stay safe America. ”
Some students aren’t sure how to handle the scary situation, adding:
“I’ m scared off my ass, what do I do??? ”
TikTok announced on Thursday night that they were working with law enforcement to “look into warnings about violence at schools, ” but so far, no evidence of the threat “originating or spreading via TikTok” has been found. They explained:
“We handle even rumored threats with utmost seriousness, which is why we’ re working with law enforcement to look into warnings about potential violence at schools even though we have not found proof of such threats originating or spreading via TikTok. ”
Still, a spokesperson told People that the company is continuing to investigate further. And police departments in many states aren’t taking chances.
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Florida’s North Port Police Department addressed the controversy on their Twitter , sharing:
“Law-enforcement agencies around the country are keeping a close eye on schools in the wake of nationwide generic school threat conversations. The threats circulating on social media claiming that December 17 is a day to do harm at schools. The Northport Police Department is aware of the information. We take all threats, joking or not, seriously. ”
Similarly, in Connecticut, the Naugatuck Police Department told parents they would have a greater presence at schools in the “coming days, ” even though they have not heard of a specific threat targeting any of their schools yet. They explained in a statement:
“Due to an uptick in unrelated threats at schools in the region, the Naugatuck Police will be increasing our presence and patrols at Borough Schools in the coming days. While there has been NO threat against Naugatuck Schools, students, or staff, the public can anticipate our presence to increase the community’ s sense of safety during the coming school days. ”
This haunting TikTok challenge comes just three weeks after four Oxford High School students were murdered during a school shooting in Michigan . Ethan Crumbley , 15, is currently being charged as an adult for the crimes, which include terrorism causing death and four counts of first-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty.
Sadly, this scare also comes during the week of the ninth anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that took the lives of 20 first-graders and six staff members on December 14, 2012. It’s so heartbreaking that after all these tragedies, schools still aren’t a safe place for children.
We sincerely hope that everyone stays safe and extra security helps eliminate any potential threat in the wake of this terrifying TikTok!
[Image via Movieclips Trailers/ YouTube ]
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