Schools across US cancel classes over unconfirmed threats of shootings on TikTok

Schools across the US are cancelling classes on Friday (local time) after threats of shootings and bombings were circulated on social media platform TikTok, but authorities said these threats were not specific or credible.

According to the districts and local media reports, Districts in California, Texas, Minnesota, and Missouri have said they plan to close down Friday in response, reported The Verge.

According to the Office of the Superintendent posted in Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD), "As we have previously shared, the social media platform, TikTok, is creating issues for schools with dangerous "challenges" for students. TikTok is getting national attention for a challenge encouraging kids in school to threaten gun violence tomorrow. We saw an example earlier in the week involving a school in Los Angeles."

However, PAUSD has no pending threats, credible or otherwise. The news will report on the reckless use of social media to create anxiety and disrupt schools across the country. "We have no way of controlling what is posted on social media and are forced to respond," added the Superintendent.

The Superintendent of PAUSD said that they met with every principal in the district and made them aware of the TikTok challenge. The threats reportedly don't mention specific schools, but school authorities across the country are on alert and have opted to work with law enforcement and ensure students' safety.

"Each site leader is aware of the TikTok challenge and understands our internal protocols to deal with threats that may arise. We have also been in contact with PAPD to calibrate our efforts. Again, this is a national issue and we have no specific threats," said the Superintendent.

"We ask staff, students, and families to report anything suspicious to their site principals. Discipline for participating in threats against schools will be the maximum allowed by law. This is not a game. There is nothing funny or harmless about creating fear," added the Superintendent.

The reports of threats on TikTok may be self-perpetuating. Videos being posted to TikTok warn others that they should skip school on December 17 due to supposed threats of shootings or bombings, which seem to have prompted others to create similar videos.

And now that schools are cancelling classes in response to those supposed threats, a new wave of videos have popped up with additional warnings based on both the supposed claims and the actual, factual cancellations of some school classes, reported The Verge.

"I wish we had a message that better reflected the outstanding first half of the school year. Safety is our top priority and our staff is on the same page for our students," said the Superintendent.

Meanwhile, the social media site, TikTok issued a statement stating that it's "working with law enforcement" to investigate the rumoured threats.

"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," tweeted the social media site.

( With inputs from ANI )

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor