TikTok Threat Of School Gun Violence Has Aurora Police On Alert

AURORA, IL — A TikTok challenge encouraging students to threaten gun violence at their schools Friday has Aurora police on alert.

The post, though general and not targeting one specific school, references "school shootings and bomb threats for every school in the USA even elementary." As a precautionary measure, the Aurora Police Department has been "in constant communication" with school districts and law enforcement partners in the area.

"At this time, we have no reason to believe that the threat is directed at an Aurora school or any school in the State of Illinois," police said in a statement on Facebook Thursday night.

The message continued: "APD takes school threats seriously and will work with our local state’s attorneys to investigate and charge anyone who makes threats to our school community."

Aurora police are among multiple law enforcement agencies across the country monitoring the rumors of violence threatening schools Friday. Although it's not clear where the threat originated, a Utah school district issued a news release saying the threat started as a way for students to skip school, Patch reported.

The reports of the December TikTok challenge threatening school violence come after a string of monthly challenges — including September's "Devious Licks" — stemming from the video-sharing platform.

Police are asking the community to say something if they see something, since "school safety is the responsibility of the entire community." Threats or suspicious social media activity should be reported to Illinois's Safe2Help Hotline by calling 844-472-3345, texting SAFE2, or emailing HELP@Safe2HelpIL.com.

If a threat or social media post is believed to be an immediate or active threat to school safety, police said the community should call 911 immediately.