AACPS Monitoring Social Media Threats To Schools, Officials Will Respond Accordingly

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — Anne Arundel County Public Schools knows about the social media threats made this week against educational facilities nationwide. An AACPS official told Patch that the school system will take action as appropriate.

The generalized threats mostly came on TikTok, a social media platform that shows short videos. These insinuations encouraged violence this Friday at schools around the country, but they did not name any specific targets.

"We have been in contact with county police and the Maryland Center for School Safety," AACPS spokesman Bob Mosier said in an email. "While there appears to be no credibility to any threat at this time and, to be clear, there are no threats mentioning any of our schools, we are remaining in contact with our law enforcement partners as we do on a regular basis."

The Anne Arundel County Police Department has eyes on the situation. Authorities noted that they will take steps to make the community feel safer.

"We are aware of the threats being made nationally," wrote Lt. Jacklyn Davis, a spokeswoman for the police department. "Out of an abundance of caution[,] parents & students may see police cars doing checks during the school day tomorrow."

Harford County Public Schools is also monitoring the situation. Leaders in Harford County announced that there may be more officers on campuses this Friday.

"Please take this opportunity to talk with your student about the seriousness and resulting consequences of making any kind of threat," Harford County schools said, encouraging families to report suspicious activity to the police.

Schools around Maryland are scheduled to be open as normal on Friday.

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