School districts in California, Texas, Minnesota, and Missouri are reportedly canceling classes this week due to reports of school shooting threats on TikTok. Many more school districts kept classes in session but sent letters home warning parents of potential threats.
The Verge reports that school districts in multiples U.S. states including California, Texas, Minnesota, and Missouri are canceling school this Friday, December 17, due to reports of school shooting threats on TikTok. Other districts have stated that they have heightened police presence or have emailed parents to say that they have been investigating the threats.
Video sharing app TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, announced on July 6 it was pulling out of Hong Kong, less than a week after a new national security law went into effect.(Photo by GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)
However, there does not appear to be any confirmed reports specific threats, instead districts have reacted to a trend referencing the possibility of shootings or bombings on December 17 on TikTok. A number of districts and law enforcement agencies claim to have investigated the situation and don’t believe the threats to be credible.
Baltimore County Public Schools wrote on Twitter: “Law enforcement agencies have investigated this threat and determined that it originated in Arizona and is not credible.” A Missouri school district wrote: “Currently, there have been no threats to any of the schools in Mexico, [Missouri].”
New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy tweeted, “there are no known specific threats against New Jersey schools.”
I just spoke with @NewJerseyOAG Andrew Bruck, @NJSP Colonel Pat Callahan, and @NJOHSP Acting Director Laurie Doran regarding the viral social media school threats.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) December 16, 2021
TikTok says that it has not identified any videos making specific threats, saying in a tweet: “We have not found evidence of such threats originating or spreading via TikTok.”
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 evidence of such threats originating or spreading via TikTok.
— TikTokComms (@TikTokComms) December 16, 2021
A school district in Little Falls, Minnesota decided to cancel classes on Friday after the state’s Department of Public Safety informed them of “a TikTok trend that emerged targeting Friday, December 17, as a day of threats of shootings and bombings in schools.” A post on the Little Falls Community Schools website stated that law enforcement had determined via interviews that Little Falls was “specifically identified in a TikTok post related to this threat.”
Read more at the Verge here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com
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