Several Westchester NY school district and local police departments addressed a number of vague warnings posted on TikTok about violence at schools on Dec. 17. The threats were made across the country and most schools stayed open, with both local and national law enforcement stating that the threats were low level with little or no specifics posted.
The Pelham School District took the threat most seriously, and conducted classes on Dec. 17 remotely. “Early this morning, a parent outside of Pelham became aware of a screenshot of an anonymous Snapchat message that threatened a school shooting at “PMS.” Recognizing that this could be a threat against Pelham Middle School, the parent immediately notified Pelham Police early this morning, who relayed this information to us and immediately began investigating. While it was unclear if this threat was credible or not, the fact that it appeared to reference a specific school in our District necessitated that we close our school facilities to students and staff out of an abundance of caution and to allow time for police to investigate.
At about 3pm, we received the following update for the Pelham Police Department:“At approximately 6:30am, the Pelham Police Department received an initial complaint of a perceived threat against the Pelham Middle School. It has been determined this morning’s social media threat was part of a nationwide viral social media challenge. There were no direct or specific threats to the Pelham School District. Further police investigation concluded the social media post was similarly directed toward multiple out of state schools with the similar PMS abbreviation as the Pelham Middle School.To ensure the safety of the students and staff our district shifted to virtual instruction so a proper police investigation could determine the facts surrounding today’s incident. The Pelham Police have concluded there are no direct threats to the Pelham School District. As a continued precaution, you will see a heightened police presence next week in and around the schools.”With this in mind, we are confident that our schools are safe and we will open as regularly scheduled on Monday, December 20 with an additional police presence,” wrote Sincerely,Dennis R. Lauro, Jr. Ed. D.Acting Superintendent of Schools, Pelham.
In Westchester, the Harrison Police Department posted, “The Harrison Police Department is aware of the activity on the social media platform Tik Tok regarding a possible school shooting on Friday, December 17th. The threat is considered to be a low level threat for several reasons including that no specific school was mentioned. We have been in contact with the Harrison Central School District and are working closely with other surrounding Police jurisdictions including the Westchester County PD Real-Time Crime Center. We will continue to investigate and monitor the threat, and provide updates as necessary. Out of an abundance of caution, Officers will be present on all HCSD campuses.”
TikTok, the video sharing site most often mentioned in local news reports, said in a statement on Thursday that it was working with law enforcement “even though we have not found evidence of such threats originating or spreading via TikTok.”
The company said a search of its posts showed users warning about the threats but no evidence of anyone directly making or promoting them. “We are deeply concerned that the proliferation of local media reports on an alleged trend that has not been found on the platform could end up inspiring real world harm,” it said.
In a statement on Twitter, the F.B.I. urged people to contact the police or the federal authorities if they saw a threat against a school. “DO NOT share or forward the threat,” the bureau said. “Doing so can spread misinformation and cause panic.”
An alert was issued by Westchester County Police Department after it received a tip from its School Resource Officer Program about purported threats made on TikTok regarding a potential incident on Friday, Dec. 17. “WCPD / School Resource OfficersWCPD increased patrols today in the school districts where we have School Resource Officers assigned (Somers, North Salem, Lakeland and Hendrick Hudson). Our goal, as it is every day, is to create a safe environment for students, staff and the entire school community.In light of recent social media posts causing alarm across the nation, our Patrol and Special Operations Divisions are providing additional high visibility, directed patrols throughout the school day. The high visibility patrols supplement the safety and security presence provided by school resource officers. In addition, we increased our patrols around Westchester Community College and its annexes.The recent posts on TikTok regarding the potential for school violence today have been investigated by law enforcement. The posts are general and NOT directed at any individual school or location. The posts appear to have originated outside the United States. The investigation is ongoing and the threat is considered low level at this time.Our Patrol Division actively engages with our Detective Division and Intel/Real Time Crime Center daily to monitor and investigate any social media posts of concern targeted at school safety. Information is shared not only within our Department but with the entire Westchester-Putnam law enforcement community.We hope the additional steps we are taking today will help reduce any anxiety related to these social media posts,” posted the West. County Police.
The Yonkers Police Department issued the following statement, “The Yonkers Police Department and Yonkers Public Schools are aware of the nationwide viral social media threats claiming that schools will be targeted with violence tomorrow, Friday, December 17th, 2021. These threats appear to have originated on the TikTok social media platform and have spread from there.There is zero credible information regarding specific threats to Yonkers Public Schools or private institutions. Yonkers Police Detectives will continue to monitor the situation.The Yonkers Police Department and Yonkers Public Schools places the highest priority on student safety; as such and out of an abundance of caution, you may see an increased police presence and enhanced security measures at school tomorrow.The Yonkers Police assesses all threats to our community and takes appropriate action. At the same time, as these types of viral incidents have increased with the proliferation of social media and mobile devices, we must guard against those who would instill fear in our communities and hold them accountable.”
