NH Schools On Edge Over Dec. 17 TikTok Shooting Challenge

CONCORD, NH — School districts in New Hampshire and across the country are warning parents about potential threats of violence against schools, that were not deemed credible, after posts on social media and online.

A Tiktok Shooting Challenge for Dec. 17 has been posted on the social media site in a number of different messages. School officials have been in touch with police and parents to monitor the threats and also beef up extra security at schools on Friday.

The New Hampshire Information & Analysis Center informed the state education department about the threats while school districts sent out information to parents. Some students in Concord reported reading the posts on Thursday. Kathleen Murphy, the school superintendent in Concord, issued an alert to parents on Thursday.

Officials have stated they believed the posts originated in Texas and do not deem them credible.

“The NHIAC has been made aware of online messaging that is calling for possible school threats on 17 December 2021,” an alert stated. “The NHIAC is NOT aware of any credible threats pertaining to any specific schools or locations. The NHIAC encourages reporting of found threats to the local police department and in the event of emergency, please call 9-1-1.”

New Hampshire Information & Analysis Center released examples of the threat posts late Thursday. The threat posts said there may be school shootings and bomb threats and students and educators should stay home, according to screenshots released by officials.

TikTok challenges have been running rampant across the country leading to vandalism and theft inside some public schools.

Vague or legitimate school threats are not anything new.

At the Rundlett Middle School in Concord in May a threat post on Instagram against the school was not deemed to be credible later. Concord High School also received a threat on Snapchat in 2018 with the likeness of Nikolas Cruz, the Parkland school shooter who murdered 17 people.

In 2017, a number of schools across New Hampshire were hit by various threats including bombing and shooting threats.

In December 2015, Concord High School officials found a threat scrawled on a bathroom wall. Another threat was reported in March 2016. A few months later, Bow High School was evacuated due to a bomb threat while Portsmouth High School also received a threat. Bomb threats were reported in Keene and Nashua. A couple of days later, more threats were reported in Manchester, Pembroke, and Portsmouth.

In December 2016, Oyster River High School was placed in lockdown, and classes were dismissed after a threat was found on a bathroom wall. Numerous threats during the past few years have also been reported at Pembroke Academy, including bomb threats and lockdowns. Officials also trained in that community to be prepared for potential threats.

There have been upticks in incidents recently including several in Massachusetts during the past week.

Worcester, MA, officials reported a threat on Wednesday while nearby Milford, MA, school officials reported a student making an "ambiguous" threat. Three other threats on Snapchat were reported at the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School while a Dighton Middle School student was investigated for making "threatening gestures" while outside of school. Another Snapchat threat, a school shooting mention, was made in the Wrentham, MA, school district, too. Norwood, MA, school officials also confirmed two threats of violence in the schools during the previous two weeks. A middle school student also made a threat on Cape Cod on Thursday.

All of the threats were after a recent mass shooting at a high school in Michigan which has put school officials on edge. After that incident, in Salem, MA, school officials enhanced security at the school.

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