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| Threats via Tik Tok cause classes to be canceled |
Reports of the threat spreading on TikTok caused school districts in the United States to cancel classes on Friday, December 17.
California, Texas, Minnesota and Missouri counties on Friday announced plans to close in response. Elsewhere, counties have announced plans to increase the police force or send emails to parents letting them know they are investigating the allegations.
However, there is as yet little evidence of the credibility of these threats at all. State and local law enforcement agencies mainly say they heard about the trend of possible shootings or bombings on December 17. However, it is not known how many people saw specific threats or threats against their schools.
Several counties said they investigated the matter and did not believe the threats were believable or even real.
Baltimore County Public Schools wrote on Twitter, "Law enforcement agencies have investigated this threat and have determined that it is from Arizona and is unreliable.
As a Missouri-area school wrote: No schools in Missouri are currently under threat.
The Milford Village School District in Ohio wrote to parents: There is no credible local threat. In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy wrote on Twitter: There is no known specific threat to schools in New Jersey.
TikTok threat reports can be subjective. A video posted on TikTok warns others not to go to school on December 17 because they may be threatened by gunfire or explosion. These clips seem to have inspired others to create similar videos.
After the school canceled classes due to these alleged threats, a new wave of videos surfaced and additional warnings were issued based on the alleged and actual cancellation of some classes.
TikTok partners with government agencies to investigate warnings
The platform said it had not found any videos depicting a specific threat. And she wrote in a tweet: We have not found any evidence of the existence or spread of such threats on Tik Tok. We are working with law enforcement to take these warnings seriously.
A school district in Little Falls, Minnesota, decided to cancel classes Friday after receiving a report from the State Department of Public Safety on TikTok that December 17 was a school shooting and explosion hazard.
According to an article posted on the Little Falls Community School website, law enforcement agencies found in interviews that the TikTok post stated that Little Falls was related to this threat, which was different from other schools and districts that they thought were not. His name specifically. But the district did not say it saw the threat itself.
Gilroy, California police described a threatening letter with the initials of a local high school. For this reason, the school program was canceled.
However, police said they later found out that the post was linked to another Los Angeles high school. The Los Angeles School Police Department identified the person who posted the post and concluded that he was not a credible threat.
The school district has already dealt with the rumors circulating about Tik Tok. This year, some fear that the teacher will release the challenge, but the result turns out to be wrong.