**Updated 6:53 am**
A new Tik Tok trend has been circulating insinuating a threat of school violence today, and it’s concerning officials across the country. District Attorney Stephanie Vettenberg-Shaffer issued a press release late last night regarding our community’s response.
“Local law enforcement has recently been notified of a TikTok threat that talks about school violence nationwide on Friday. No threat to local schools, specifically, has been made. Law enforcement and area school districts have a plan in place to protect the schools. Parents should not be alarmed to see an increased law enforcement presence at area schools tomorrow (today). The increased police presence is merely a precaution and, even though our schools have not been specifically named, no threat can be taken lightly.”
Allegany-Limestone Superintendant Anthony Giannicchi weighed in with a notice to parents, student’s and staff via their website:
“Dear Parents, Students, and Staff, The Allegany-Limestone District has been investigating a concerning screenshot that is circulating on social media with a message of a non- specific threat of school violence across the nation on 12/17/2021. The Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office, with School Resource Officers and the NYS Police investigated and found the post to have no credibility or association with the Allegany-Limestone School District.
We take any such reports extremely seriously and will always work in close partnership with law enforcement to ensure the safety of our students and staff. Out of an abundance of caution we will have extra police presence at school on Friday. Tony Giannicchi”
A statement made by TikTok via twitter had this to say:
We handle even rumored threats with utmost seriousness, 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.
Dear Parents, Caregivers, Families, and Students,
Smethport Area School District has become aware of a troubling post that has been shared widely this week throughout the country on the social media platform TikTok. The post refers to a threat to school safety “for every school in the USA, even elementary,” on Friday, December 17.
The post appears to be part of a national TikTok trend and did not originate in our school district. While we do not believe the threat to be credible, we are closely monitoring the situation and taking it seriously. Law enforcement officials have indicated that the original TikTok challenge was for students to skip school on December 17. At some point, that challenge was changed to a threat.
For more information, please see the letter from Superintendent Benson regarding this issue.
WESB News will keep you up to date with any information regarding this situation as it becomes available.
While the Olean High School has deemed this a hoax.