Threats of shootings, bombings and other violence are upending the school year around the U.S., fueling worry among families and frantic responses from law enforcement and school administrators. Most of the threats—which number in the thousands, according to state and local estimates—have been hoaxes spread by teenagers on TikTok and Snapchat. Yet some threats have led to student arrests, canceled classes and football games, and drops in attendance, reports the Wall Street Journal. School shootings like the Sept. 4 incident in Winder, Ga., that left two students and two teachers dead, often spawn a rise in copycat threats. School leaders and security experts say the volume now is particularly high, driven in large part by how fast posts travel on social media. A Missouri hotline has fielded 301 reports of potential school violence this academic year, closing in on the total reported in the entire prior year. Tennessee’s Department of Safety and Homeland Security investigated 321 threats from August to mid-September.
Schools are on high alert at any online post even hinting at violence. Those caught posting hoax threats often say they meant it as a joke or a dare, say school administrators and law enforcement. “We do communicate very often and let kids know this is not a joke,” said Howard Hepburn, the superintendent of Broward County Public Schools, the Florida district where 17 students and staff died in the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. At least nine students in Broward County between the ages of 11 and 15 have been arrested for making threats since August. Most told law enforcement they meant the threats as a joke, with one 13-year-old saying he was upset about a new school cellphone policy. School leaders say they want students to know that hoax threats can lead to expulsion and even arrests, with felony charges in some places. Teenagers make mistakes, but “spending all our resources and time and energy on potential threats should not be the focus of education,” said Brad Herzer, an assistant Oklahoma city school superintendent.
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