Schools across the US will close on Friday in case a school shooting TikTok challenge turns out to be real.
Schools and entire districts in California, Missouri, Texas and Minnesota have cancelled classes for the day, while others who will remain open have announced that they will add extra police officers on campus and will remain on high alert.
However, officials and police have assured parents and students that they have found scant evidence of any credible threats.
The origin of the purported TikTok challenge is not clear, though multiple videos on the app reference 'December 17' and school shootings.
'Prepared to hopefully not get shot tomorrow at school,' one TikTok user wrote on their video. 'Basically there was school threats tomorrow, Friday (December 17th) for most schools.'
In a statement Thursday afternoon, TikTok said it was working with law enforcement to look into 'warnings about potential violence at schools,' but that it didn't determine the threats to originate or spread on TikTok.
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A TikTok trend reportedly urging students to call in shooting threats at their schools on Friday, December 17 has sent some schools scrambling to cancel classes last minute
Gov. Phil Murphy said 'there are no known specific threats against New Jersey schools'
A TikTok user by the handle @enigmasoul_ explained that the challenge started as a call for kids to skip school before it turned into something more sinister
The news comes less than three weeks after 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley shot four people and injured seven others at Oxford High School in Michigan.
The news comes less than three weeks after 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley shot four people and injured seven others at Oxford High School in Michigan
Little Falls Community Schools in Minnesota; the Gasconade County in Missouri; Gilroy High School in Gilroy, California; and Kaufman High School in Kaufman, Texas all cited the TikTok 'trend' or 'challenge' when announcing that classes were canceled on Friday, The Verge reports.
At the same time, various school districts have sought to reassure parents that no credible threats exist.
'Based on law enforcement interviews, Little Falls Community Schools was specifically identified in a TikTok post related to this threat,' the district said.
'Therefore, school throughout the district is canceled tomorrow, Friday, December 17.'
In Missouri, the Gasconade County Sheriff's Office cited 'posts circulating on social media sites, such as Tik Tok' before announcing it was closing its schools the next day.
Little Falls Community Schools in Minnesota said it was cancelling classes on Friday after the district was 'specifically identified in a TikTok post related to this threat'
