'On high alert': Nationwide TikTok threat spreads caution to local schools
Dec. 17—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Spurred by a viral social media post Thursday encouraging school gun and bomb attacks Friday, schools across the nation and the local region sent notifications to families to let them know security precautions will be taken.
"We (Pennsylvania's school superintendents) were all notified late (Thursday) by the state secretary of education that a nationwide threat was going viral on TikTok," Greater Johnstown School District Superintendent Amy Arcurio said.
School districts sent mass text messages and voicemails to families Thursday night.
"We felt before our families came across it through other channels and start to react, we wanted to get ahead of it and make sure they knew we were aware," Arcurio said. "We are in troubling times right now with this stuff happening. We are feeling vulnerable at times and need to respond immediately to give families assurance that schools are safe places to be tomorrow."
The threat bears similarity to previous monthly TikTok "challenges" encouraging disruptive behavior in schools, Johnstown police Patrolman Chas Cypher said.
Cypher is school resource officer for Greater Johnstown Middle School.
"This was a nationwide TikTok advising students to make gun threats, bomb threats or do something in a terroristic manner," he said. "No specific school was targeted. It involves all schools across the country."
The threat comes days after a potential threat was thwarted at Westmont Hilltop High School. Upper Yoder Township Police charged two teenagers and recovered firearms including an AR-15-type firearm from a home on Dec. 7.
Upper Yoder Township police Chief Donald Hess said Thursday night that his department will continue to provide security for Westmont Hilltop School District until the district can hire its own police personnel.
Hess said officers are still actively investigating that case and have executed 12 search warrants into electronic devices and social media platforms to gather information.
The Westmont Hilltop incident came less than two weeks after the Nov. 30 shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan. Four students were killed and seven people were injured.
In addition, he is aware of the TikTok threat.
"We are on high alert and aware of that TikTok trend," Hess said. "We are taking it seriously and will have extra protection in place just to be sure. We will confront any threat and deal with it accordingly."
Johnstown police are responding by increasing their presence at Greater Johnstown schools Friday morning to ensure classes begin safely.
"Every parent in the district was sent a text plus a voicemail," Cypher said. "A lot of parents will send them to school and a lot will keep their kids home Friday."
Pennsylvania State Police in the region also will be keeping an eye on schools Friday, said Trooper Cliff Greenfield, public information officer for state police in Cambria and Indiana counties.
"We are aware of the current threat being circulated," he said. "In light of that we will be doing our best to provide presence at schools in coverage areas to the best of our ability."
Forest Hills School District Superintendent Dave Lehman said his district has been conducting security drills all week in light of recent threats.
"We've had a strong police presence this week and will have increased security tomorrow because of the TikTok challenge," he said. "There is no credible threat now, but there are a lot of things floating around social media that can be disturbing."
