Wisconsin Schools On Alert To 'Troubling' TikTok Challenge

MILWAUKEE, WI — Several Wisconsin school districts said they were aware of messages on the social media platform TikTok that appear to encourage students to threaten gun violence at their schools on Friday.

The Menomonee Falls School District said Thursday that it didn't believe the threat was credible, but the district was in contact with the local police department.

The Waukesha School District and Elmbrook School Districts made similar statements but added there was no specific threats to their schools.

The Whitnall, Oak Creek-Franklin, Franklin, Greenfield and Greendale school districts said in a joint letter that their schools weren't directly mentioned, but districts may have increased police patrols on Friday as an added precaution.

The school district in Menomonee Falls said that a "troubling" post was shared this week on TikTok that referred to a threat Friday to school safety "for every school in the U.S., even elementary."

School districts across the country said they've been overwhelmed with questions about the rumored threats.

"We continue to encourage students, staff, and families to say something to a trusted adult at school whenever they see something troubling or potentially harmful," the Menomonee Falls School District said in a statement.

The district added that parents should talk to their children about the seriousness and resulting consequences of making threats and about the appropriate use of social media.

It's not clear where the threat started, but a news release from the Tooele County School District in Utah said the original threat started as a way for students to skip school and "morphed into something much more disturbing."

See More: TikTok December 17 Challenge Has Police, Schools On High Alert

In September, a different TikTok challenge called "Devious Licks" snowballed into several acts of vandalism. Students and TikTok users shattered bathroom mirrors, stole soap dispensers and ripped out stall doors.

Several middle and high school students in Waukesha were caught vandalizing a bathroom.

The Sussex Hamilton High School principal said the school's bathroom had to close temporarily because of the resulting damage.