Schools Aware Of TikTok Violence Threats But Classes Will Go On

TAMPA BAY, FL — While school districts and law enforcement agencies say they are aware of threats of gun violence at schools on Friday, they say there have been no credible threats of school violence in Tampa Bay.

Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning said the Pasco County Sheriff's Office and city police departments haven't received reports of school violence planned for Friday, but said school resource officers are aware of the social media rumors circulating around the country and are taking appropriate precautions.

"They will continue to investigate and update the school district," Browning said.

He added that he expects Friday to be a "normal school day" and "we expect students to be in attendance."

In a letter to parents, he advised parents and students to avoid unduly frightening others by sharing threats they see on social media.

"If you see a post on social media that appears to be a threat, please notify your school and local law enforcement, and we will work together to investigate," he said. "Our schools will continue to employ campus safety procedures, and will continue to communicate with parents when there is a threat involving a specific school."

Neither the Hillsborough County nor the Pinellas County school districts have distributed similar warnings to parents, and say all public schools will be in session as usual.

The threats come in the wake of the deadly school shooting Nov. 30 in Michigan when a 15-year-old student at Oxford High School killed four students and injured seven others.

Since then, law enforcement agencies and school districts across the country have been monitoring a TikTok challenge encouraging students to threaten school violence on Friday, Dec. 17.

This year, Tampa Bay law enforcement has investigated a handful of school threats, mostly made on social media sites, and acted quickly to identify the student making the threat.

On Jan. 11, a 12-year-old Seminole Middle School student threatened to "shoot up" his school in a text message to a friend. The friend promptly reported the threat to school officials. The student making the threat was arrested and charged with making threatening communications.

On Feb. 22, Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a 13-year-old student at Pinellas Park Middle School after she threatened to shoot up her school in a Snapchat post, which was reposted to TikTok.

Fellow students reported the threat and she was charged with making written threats to conduct a mass shooting.

Most recently, a 13-year-old girl attending the Henderson Hammock Charter School in Citrus Park was arrested Oct. 20 after students reported comments she'd made about a planned shooting at the school.

Students said she created a map with locations of security cameras and drew up a hit list of teachers and students she intended to target.

When the sheriff's office investigated, they learned the girl has no access to guns. The teen was taken into custody and charged with written threats to kill or conduct a mass shooting.

Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister commended students for heeding the anti-school violence mantra, "See something. Say something," that became a catch phrase following the Feb. 14, 2018, mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

“Lives can be saved by the bravery of students who come forward with information,” said Chronister. “The safety of our students is a priority. I am urging all parents to talk with their children about the importance of speaking up and reporting anything suspicious. As always, if you see something, say something. It could save a life.”

Pasco County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri assured parents that their children are safer at school than ever, although he acknowledged that no safety features are fool-proof.

Gualtieri led the state commission that investigated the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkand that killed 17 people and wounded 17 others.

Three weeks after the shootings, then-Gov. Rick Scott signed the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, a comprehensive bill that included a provision raising the age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21.

He then appointed Gualtieri, who holds a law degree, to head the MSDHS Public Safety Commission.

In January 2019, the commission issued a 500-page report advocating a laundry list of school safety measures including an increase in law enforcement presence at all schools including elementary schools, gated campuses manned by security personnel staff, adding locks to classrooms that can be locked from the inside, exterior and interior video cameras, a schoolwide public address system in all schools, designated spaces for students to seek cover, two-way radios for all school personnel, mandatory active assailant response training and regular site security inspections.

Additionally, students who threaten school violence verbally, through text messages, written notes or on social media are now subject to a felony charge.

See related story: Manatee County School Threats Surge Ahead Of TikTok Challenge