Friday, Dec. 17, 2021 | 6:05 p.m.
The Clark County School District arrested one student this week following an investigation into several threats tied to a viral “National Shoot Up Your School Day” challenge on social media, according to school police.
The TikTok challenge put law enforcement nationally on high alert and forced some districts to close schools out of caution, including in Carson City.
And while classes were not disrupted in the Las Vegas area, a student at Cashman Middle School was arrested for making terror threats after the district received a tip Thursday night, CCSD Police Lt. Bryan Zink said.
School police, after determining which school the student who made the threat attended, contacted the girl at her residence, where she was taken into custody, Zink said. The age of the girl wasn’t given.
“We received several messages referencing violence across the valley related to social media threats,” Zink said. Zink couldn’t pinpoint the exact number of threats.
The district is urging parents to talk with their children about what is appropriate and inappropriate to post online, Zink said.
“Something that you think may be a joke or funny may have dire consequences resulting in you being cited or arrested,” Zink said.
Besides being arrested, Zink said, the student will also face discipline from CCSD. It’s unknown if the child will be allowed back into the classroom.
With stress levels already soaring from the effects of the pandemic and a rash of hoax threats following a deadly school shooting in Michigan on Nov. 30, districts said they were taking precautions out of an abundance of caution.
The posts circulating online said schools would face shooting and bomb threats Friday. In a tweet, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it did not “have any information indicating any specific, credible threats to schools but recommends communities remain alert.”
The 7,600-student district in Carson City “decided to play it safe and begin the two-week scheduled winter break a day early,” Carson City School District Superintendent Richard Stokes said in a statement.
The threats come months after other TikTok challenges that dared students to slap teachers or vandalize property.
TikTok has been deleting posts spreading “misinformation that is generally sparking alarming warnings” but is not finding posts that are promoting violence or making threats, company spokesperson Hilary McQuaide said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
