West Plains, Mo. – A viral trend originating on TikTok has many schools on alert for violence on Friday, December 17. The trend vaguely threatened schools with violence and bomb threats. Many schools have been on edge since a deadly school shooting in Michigan on Nov. 30, and many potential copycat threats have been arrested around the nation.
While no threats have been directed locally, the West Plains School District has said it will be working with police to ensure the safety of students. In an email sent out Thursday evening, Superintendent Dr. Lori Wilson said “We are grateful that people have reached out to share this information. That is the correct response when there is a concern.”
In a statement on Twitter, TikTok said it was working with law enforcement to investigate.
“We handle even rumored threats with utmost seriousness,” the statement said, “which is why we’re working with law enforcement to look into warnings about potential violence at schools even though we have not found evidence of such threats originating or spreading via TikTok.”
Parents and students are urged to report any threating behavior to the proper authorities.
