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Raleigh, North Carolina – Violent threats circulating on social media across North Carolina prompted many schools to close on Wednesday.
Local media reported that schools across the country were on lockdown following similar threats. So far, a handful of students have been arrested for spreading violent messages in North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Delaware.
“Threats of copy hoaxes” in the Wake County public school system led to the lockdown of several schools on Wednesday, district spokeswoman Lisa Luten said.
“This viral response is typical of college students after the media reported a threat,” Luten said.
School officials were on high alert after threats were leveled at at least two schools in Wake County. EE Smith High School and Cape Fear High School, both located in Cumberland County, have also received online threats in the past two days.
Parents of Smithfield-Selma middle and high school students rushed to grab their children Wednesday afternoon before the end of the school day after schools entered a brief lockdown, a video shows.
As of Wednesday afternoon, none of the threats were deemed credible and all students and staff were safe.
“Johnston County Public Schools take these matters very seriously and we thoroughly investigate every report and rumor,” school officials said. “We emphasize that parents and guardians talk with their students about the consequences of these types of statements, whether they are talking with other students or making comments on social media.”
Anyone found responsible for making a threat could face criminal charges.
An 18-year-old was charged this week after threats were leveled at several schools in Guilford County, and on Tuesday East Wake High School in Wendell was on lockdown after a Snapchat message showed a photo with a gun and the words “East Wake be ready.”
Students missed an hour of class and at one point waited in locked classrooms while MPs searched the school.
In Florida, a student was charged with threatening to shoot at South Broward High School. The neighborhood is home to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 people were killed in a mass shooting in 2018.
Two middle school students in Lee County, Florida were arrested last week and face charges of conspiracy to carry out a mass shooting after lawmakers found guns at the boys’ home and a map plotting a shooting . Another college student from LaGrange, Ga., Was accused of spreading threats online last week.
Many of these threats are posted on Snapchat or Instagram, in endangered posts, local media reports.
After a school shooting in Newport News, Va. This week, school officials said there had been several online threats of more violence. Authorities said it was “not uncommon” for there to be an increase in threats on social media after a school shooting.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said anyone posting a threat could be charged with “threat of massive violence on school grounds. This is a Class H felony.” This charge is the same whether the culprit is an adult or under the age of 18. A Class H felony can mean a prison sentence of four to 25 months.
This spate of school violence threats comes after schools across the United States scramble to tackle a TikTok trend – “sneaky licking” – focused on destroying bathrooms in schools.
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