ARTICLE UPDATE – 9/30/24:
Nearly a month after the Apalachee High School shooting, school districts across the U.S. are still grappling with increased school shooting threats — and not just on social media. On Sept. 26, the Hallsville School District in central Missouri informed families that a high school student made a threatening statement against the school while in class, KOMU reports. The student was immediately taken into custody by the Hallsville Police Department.
Also in Missouri, the Dixon R-I School District canceled school on Sept. 27 after receiving two threats earlier in the week. In a Facebook post, the district said a threat was made against students and staff at Dixon Middle School on Tuesday but that schools would remain open with an increased law enforcement presence. However, the district ultimately canceled classes after it received a second “more specific threat” against Dixon Middle School.
In Kansas City, the Park Hill School District received a call claiming there was an active shooter at Park Hill High School. Several minutes later and 30 miles away, officers responded to Clinton County R3 Community Schools in Plattsburg, Mo., after a caller alleged someone was locked in a bathroom at Plattsburg High School with an AR-15 rifle. Multiple schools in the district were placed on lockdown. Law enforcement later determined both incidents were swatting calls, according to Fox 4.
“We have resources to deal with calls like this, whether they are real or determined to be unfounded,” Kansas City Police wrote in a statement following the Park Hill incident. “We train and prepare for any eventuality.”
RELATED ARTICLE: School Swatting Threats: How Common Are They and What Do They Cost Taxpayers?
While many schools and municipalities train for these incidents, false threats take up and divert precious resources and leave room for real dangers. The day after the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, a Florida police officer shot himself in the leg inside a school while responding to a false shooting report. This past May, a police officer accidentally discharged his firearm during a swatting incident at a Massachusetts high school, triggering an even larger police response.
False threats are also extremely costly. While it is difficult to estimate the average cost of a swatting incident, during an 11-month project with The Economist, researcher David Riedman said he helped determine each swatting incident at a school costs at least $100,000 for each emergency response, including SWAT call out, off-duty call in, and outside agencies searching the schools in the hours following a threat.
CISA Releases Toolkit Amid School Threat Influx
On Sept. 25, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the operational lead for federal cybersecurity in the U.S., released a resource to help schools address increasing anonymous threats of violence.
The resource, Anonymized Threat Response Guidance: A Toolkit for K-12 Schools, was created to help K-12 schools and their law enforcement and community partners create tailored approaches to address anonymous threats of violence, including those received on social media, CISA wrote in a press release.
“K-12 schools across the country are experiencing a scourge of anonymous threats of violence. School leaders need scalable solutions to navigate these ever-evolving and burdensome threats,” said CISA Director Jen Easterly. “The K-12 Anonymized Threat Response Guidance provides step-by-step approaches to help schools better assess and respond to these threats, as well as take action to mitigate future risks in coordination with their law enforcement and other community partners.”
The toolkit emphasizes six overarching strategies:
- Build awareness about reporting to detect threats early and deter future threats.
- Develop a partnership structure that will help address threats. This includes school administrators, law enforcement personnel and mental health professionals.
- Engage law enforcement to manage threat situations and decide when to scale response actions up or down.
- Balance initial response steps to ensure the campus is safe. Most critically, treat each threat as credible, and from there, work with necessary partners to determine how to approach an immediate response.
- When appropriate, tap into multidisciplinary threat assessment teams to support interventions and expedite response if the subject who made the threat becomes known.
- Take steps throughout the school year to prepare for threats. Establish a response protocol and practice other types of emergency management activities, such as training exercises for staff.
ARTICLE UPDATE – 9/19/24:
More than two weeks after the Apalachee High School shooting that claimed the lives of four people, schools across the country are still receiving an increased amount of school shooting threats.
This week, Fortify Florida, an app where residents can anonymously report suspicious activity to police, received more than 54 reported school shooting threats in less than 24 hours, reports Fox35Orlando. In Volusia County, an 11-year-old was arrested on Sept. 16 for threatening to commit a mass shooting at Creekside Middle School or Silver Sands Middle School. Authorities said the student had a “written list of people he claimed he would kill.” Two days prior, two Heritage Middle School students, ages 13 and 14, were arrested for allegedly posting school shooting threats on TikTok and Instagram.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood voiced significant frustration with the recent threats, warning that he would start releasing the mug shots of students who are arrested for making school shooting threats.
“Parents, if you don’t wanna raise your kids, I’m gonna start raising them,” he said in a Sept. 13 news conference. “Every time we make an arrest, your kid’s photo is going to be put out there and if I could do it, I’m going to perp walk your kid so that everybody can see what your kid’s up to.”
When he announced the arrest of the 11-year-old on Monday, he did just that. He also reminded parents that Florida law allows him to charge parents for the cost of the investigations, which he says totaled about $21,000.
On Sept. 18, Chitwood announced two more students, ages 16 and 17, were arrested for making a threat on Snapchat against Taylor High School, according to WFTV9.
“Of course it was a ‘joke,'” Chitwood wrote on X. “We will introduce you to these two in the very near future.”
St. Louis School Turns to e-Learning Following Shooting Threat
In St. Louis, Lift for Life Academy shifted to e-learning on Sept. 18 after it received a school shooting threat the night before, Spectrum Local News reports. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) said detectives thought they had a lead on a suspect but determined it was someone who took a screenshot of the post and re-shared it.
“Parents are screen-shotting and posting the message online but they’re not calling the police. That is such a hindrance. We understand that parents are rightfully concerned about threats that are being posed online but in some way they can be delaying law enforcement from tracking down the actual poster,” said SLMPD spokesperson Mitch McCoy. “If you’re going to be the one to take a screenshot and then share, call the police too. Call 9-1-1. That is an emergency. But if you’re just going to screenshot it and post it to Facebook and get a lot of shares, you’re not helping us. You’re putting our detectives hours and hours and hours and hours behind of trying to articulate where that threat originated from.”
RELATED ARTICLE: Which States Have Anonymous Tip Lines for Schools?
SLMPD is working with security teams at Lift for Life and other St. Louis Public School buildings to increase security presence.
On Sept. 18, Missouri Governor Mike Parson praised law enforcement for responding to a threat against the Ritenour School District. The threat was posted to the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Courage2Report Hotline. Within a half hour, the suspect, who had a loaded handgun, was in custody.
According to the Highway Patrol, its hotline has received 102 tips for school shooting threats and 14 tips for planned attacks between July 1 and Sept. 17.
Ritenour Superintendent Chris Kilbride praised the school community for its use of the tipline.
“Our community has shifted because our community is tired,” he said.
Dozens of Chicago Schools Close, Lockdown Amid School Shooting Threats
In Illinois, school shooting threats on social media led to the closure of more than 20 schools in the southwest suburbs of Chicago on Sept. 16, the Chicago Tribune reports. The week prior, schools across two districts in the south suburbs went into soft lockdowns after receiving similar threats.
Two Chicago Public Schools, William Howard Taft High School and Peter A. Reinberg Elementary School, received threats against them on Sept. 5 and Sept. 8, respectively. Both were determined to be incredible by the Chicago Police Department but officers were dispatched to provide “additional safety support” during arrival and dismissal at both schools while the threats were under investigation.
Guns Confiscated from Iowa, Oklahoma Schools
In Iowa, several schools have received threats of guns on campuses, according to a Sept. 12 news release from Everytown for Gun Safety. In the week following the Apalachee High School shooting, at least four guns were confiscated on school grounds, including a handgun found in the backpack of a student at Roosevelt High School in Des Moines.
In Oklahoma, four guns were found at East Central High School during the same week as the Apalachee shooting.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE – 9/12/24:
Many schools across the country have increased security and some have closed as school shooting threats continue to circulate on social media.
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, at least three dozen school shooting threats were made on social media in the week after the Sept. 4 shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. Dozens of children and teens have also been arrested as a result, USA Today reports.
More than 30 Georgia teens were charged in that first week, often with felony terrorist threats, according to 11 Alive. The state Department of Juvenile Justice said 24 teens were booked into its facilities in the 48 hours after the attack. Atlanta Public Schools also increased campus security on Sept. 12 due to “social media posts currently circulating about threats of violence,” the district police department said.
RELATED ARTICLE: Apalachee School Shooting Suspect’s Previous District Was Not Notified of 2023 Investigation
In Florida, arrests were made in two school threat cases the weekend following the shooting. A 13-year-old boy was arrested on Sept. 8, accused of making social media threats against Madison County schools on Instagram. A 14-year-old high school student was arrested on Sept. 7 for allegedly making written threats to kill or conduct a mass shooting. She posted multiple stories on Instagram that contained threats, including one post that listed several schools across Broward County. Two days after the Apalachee school shooting, a 13-year-old girl was arrested for threatening on Instagram to carry out a shooting at her Hillsborough County middle school.
In New Jersey, three people were taken into custody in connection to online threats made against schools in four districts. Screenshots from TikTok posted on community Facebook pages showed the threats and list of schools, including schools in the Woodbury, Deptford, Glassboro, and Haddon Heights districts.
Woodbury City School District Superintendent Andrew Bell posted a statement on its website on Sept. 9 announcing schools would be closed. The threat was not believed to be credible, he wrote, but that the district was “exercising extreme caution to ensure the safety of our students, staff, and families.” He also urged families to “remain vigilant” and report any relevant information to law enforcement or school district officials. Deptford Township School District Superintendent Kevin Kanauss also decided to close its schools that day “out of an abundance of caution.”
In Tennessee, 11 Knox County Schools students were arrested in connection with threats made against the district. The Knoxville Police Department arrested at least seven students and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office arrested four. All are between the ages of 11 and 14 and have been charged with threats of violence. A new state law makes it a felony to threaten to commit an act of mass violence at a school or school-related activity. The threats can also be classified as federal felonies, the FBI says.
In Missouri, threats were made against several school buildings. A student was taken into custody on Sept. 9 after allegedly making a “vague social media threat” on TikTok against a Lee’s Summit middle school. Another arrest was made the same day after reports of Snapchat threats against Blue Springs High School. Also that same day, a letter was sent to families after a bomb threat was reported at Eisenhower Middle School in Kansas City.
RELATED ARTICLE: K-12 School Shooting Statistics: 52 Years of Data
In Pennsylvania, the Susquenita School District canceled classes for all schools on Sept. 9 following a school shooting threat made on social media that led to the arrest of a student. Another post allegedly listed the names of multiple students, according to ABC7. The school district said the Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the incident. A post made on Snapchat on Sept. 11 threatened a shooting at two middle schools in Pennsylvania’s Cumberland County.
Also in Pennsylvania, Lower Allen Township Borough of Police announced the person responsible for making threats on Snapchat against multiple middle schools in the West Shore School District on Sept. 11 has been identified. The juvenile suspect has not been charged but there was an increased police presence at schools Thursday.
In South Carolina, at least fifteen students were charged with making threats of violence towards schools, The State reports. In North Carolina, another shooting threat posted on social media listed dozens of schools as targets.
“The threat was communicated via social media and listed over 40 North Carolina schools. Some schools had dates listed next to them,” the North Carolina Information Sharing and Analysis Center (NC ISAAC) wrote in a statement on Sept. 10. “Law enforcement has determined there is no credible threat.”
NC ISAAC also said the person behind the threats has been identified and “intervention has been conducted.”
On Monday, Sept. 9, dozens of students left Pisgah High School in Canton, N.C., after the school reportedly received threats of a potential school shooting. Students who walked out said the situation began on Sept. 6 when students reported social media threats to the school that day and the following Monday, ABC 13 reports. A threat was also made against Waynesville Middle School. Both schools are part of Haywood County Schools.
RELATED: Maryland Teen Charged in Shooting of Classmate at Joppatowne High School
In Texas, the Llano Independent School District increased police presence on its campuses on Sept. 12 after being alerted to a potential school shooting threat the day before. Authorities determined the threat had been circulating throughout the state. Two 12-year-old middle school students were also arrested and charged in connection wih a school shooting threat in Laredo. The two girls are accused of posting, “I’m going to be a school shooter” in a Snapchat chat room. The school canceled classes as a result, as did neighboring Cigarroa High School. Both are facing felony charges of making terroristic threats. A judge ordered on Sept. 10 that they be held for at least 10 days in a juvenile detention center.
“In my 25-span career, this is the youngest I’ve seen this drastic,” said Laredo Police Information Officer Joe Baeza. “Usually this [type of threat] isn’t coming from the female gender. Most of our troublemakers have been generally guys. These two young ladies have changed that dynamic.”
In St. Paul, Minn., two schools closed on Sept. 12 after receiving threats. St. Paul police said they are working with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and district security but that they do not believe the threats are credible.
In Chula Vista, Calif., police launched an investigation after a 12-year-old reported receiving a text message from someone threatening a school shooting. Police did not believe the threat was credible and later determined the message was created by the student who first reported the incident. The child was arrested on multiple charges, including making criminal threats and filing a false police report.
How to Mitigate School Shooting Threats
Historically, after a high-profile school shooting, there has been a surge in student arrests linked to threats. In the two weeks following the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, the Educator’s School Safety Network determined there were at least 638 threats made against schools.
Threats can significantly impact instruction time. Following the threats at Knox County, school officials said attendance was down about 25% on Sept. 11. According to the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO), preventing hoaxes from disrupting schools is the best way to reduce threats that aren’t real.
“When schools close or evacuate for a communicated threat that isn’t credible, the perpetrators get exactly what they want,” NASRO’s Executive Director Mo Canady, wrote in a post on its website.
RELATED ARTICLE: School Shootings: Prevention, Response, Mitigation, and Recovery Resources
Determining a threat’s credibility also takes up a lot of resources. Nick Suplina, senior vice president for law and policy of Everytown for Gun Safety, said there is at least one effective way to weed out non-credible threats.
“The best way to assess the legitimacy of a school shooting threat is to know if there’s access to a firearm, because it’s just bluster if there is no access,” he said.
Many experts agree that preventative measures are also crucial to mitigating threats, both credible and non-credible ones.
“We have to avoid both over-reacting and under-reacting to student threats, and behavioral threat assessment is the best way to do that,” said Dewey Cornell, a forensic clinical psychologist and professor of education at the University of Virginia.
David Riedman, creator of the K-12 School Shooting Database, said the deadly shooting at Apalachee High School shows the need for “a standardized, national system for information reporting.”
“It’s that lots of different people in different agencies and different places all have the pieces of information that you would need to put together,” he said. “But unless you create a standardized system and a standardized playbook that everybody’s working towards, all of that piecemeal information is never going to get connected.”
