PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland-metro school districts are warning parents about a nationwide trend on the social media app TikTok involving violent threats toward schools.
The messages circulating say schools across the country will receive shooting and bomb threats on Friday, Dec. 17.
In some states, school officials have said they plan to increase security on campuses that day, although the threats have largely been deemed not credible.
Portland Public Schools
Portland Public Schools (PPS) sent a letter to parents and students Thursday that said it's aware of the trend.
"This week in PPS, we have investigated threats of violence on our campuses made via social media and have found them to not be credible," the letter said.
The district said threats have increased online following a deadly school shooting last month in Oxford, Michigan.
"These threats have been, for the most part, hoaxes, but they create fear and anxiety, and they can far too easily disrupt the education that all students are entitled too," PPS wrote. "These are not victimless acts."
The district said each threat it receives is taken seriously and an investigation is conducted. It is asking parental guardians to speak to students about the harmful nature of making fake threats.
"If you are a student and see a threat on social media that you know is fake, please do not share it as if it is real. If you are able, please report the perpetrator."
PPS encourages anyone who sees suspicious activity to call 911.
Reynolds School District
The Reynolds School District sent out the following statement to parents and guardians about the TikTok trend:
We are aware of a widespread social media post which challenges viewers to make threats of gun or bomb violence toward schools throughout the country for Friday, Dec. 17th. We have alerted local law enforcement and will continue to closely monitor. If you know of any specific threats or witness any suspicious activity, contact law enforcement or school administration immediately. When you see a threat, please REPORT IT immediately - DO NOT REPOST IT. Safety is our highest priority, and any student or adult threatening school violence will be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.
Hillsboro School District
The Hillsboro School District put out a message on its Facebook page to ask for help in quelling rumors and social media threats, adding that safety measures are in place.
The message said, in part, "After a significant instance of school violence, like the one experienced in Michigan on November 30, 2021, it is predictable that hoax threats and rumors will increase. The period of time immediately surrounding major holidays is also one where we typically see an increase in this type of behavior. We, along with other districts in our area and around the country, are dealing with several of these issues right now.
"There is definitely a delicate balance to achieve: we take every single report of a potential threat or other safety concern seriously and investigate immediately in partnership with law enforcement. However, we also know that virtually all of them have no factual basis and are either meant to be a “joke,” cause fear, give students a reason to leave school, or are comments that have become vastly blown out of proportion due to people retelling the story and adding their own interpretation or fact."
The district also referenced the TikTok trend circulating and said people who spread such threats or rumors could be charged with a crime.
Possible threat at Lake Oswego High
On Thursday, Dec. 16, the Lake Oswego Police Department responded to Lake Oswego High School to investigate a possible threat.
Law enforcement conducted a search of the high school and junior high school, and the schools were "secured," meaning all students and staff had to remain indoors and building entrances were locked until police gave the all clear.
A spokesperson with the district said it could not connect the possible threat to posts to the TikTok message threatening violence at schools across the country on Friday, Dec. 17.
Safe Oregon app
Tips regarding any threats or suspicious activity can be reported anonymously to the state's Safe Oregon tip line via text or call at 844-472-3367.
Safe Oregon is an anonymous safety reporting tool that's available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The program, established in 2017 and managed by Oregon State Police (OSP), fields hundreds of tips and determines the best way to intervene, given the threat level. If it's a critical problem, a program worker immediately contacts the school or authorities to take action.
According to OSP Central Records Director Coral Smith, nearly 1,200 schools — elementary, middle and high schools — across the state are enrolled in SafeOregon.
"A great thing is a lot of students may see or hear things from friends that are concerning, but there can be a fear of retaliation or being a tattletale," she said. "So SafeOregon gives them away to do that confidentially. And it also provides a way for students who may not have a trusted teacher, or that safe person in their life that they can still report potentially harmful or concerning behavior."
KGW's Alma McCarty contributed to this report.
