WATSONVILLE—Hours after school officials warned that a challenge posted on the social media site TikTok could prompt young people to call in fake bomb and gun threats to their schools, a school in Watsonville received just such a threat.
An anonymous message dated Dec. 17 to Cesar Chavez Middle School stated, “To everyone that goes to ccms this is not a joke I will be shooting up that school you kids can’t help be ready (sic).”
Pajaro Valley Unified School District spokeswoman Alicia Jimenez said that law enforcement and district officials are investigating the threat, and that there are increased security measures in place
“Based on information that we have received, and in partnership with Watsonville Police Department, the campus is believed to be safe and classes at Cesar Chavez Middle School will remain open today,” she wrote in a letter sent out to parents.
City of Watsonville spokeswoman Michelle Pulido says that investigators believe the threats to be unsubstantiated.
It is too early to determine what penalties face the person who made the threats. This will depend on what investigators find, and whether they are a minor, Pulido said.
“If it does turn out to be a student, we would work side-by-side with the school district to determine disciplinary actions,” Pulido said.
If it was an adult, they could face criminal charges, she said.
“There is too much at play, and we’re not there yet.”
The TikTok shooting “challenge” mirrors others that ask adherents to do inadvisable and occasionally dangerous things, and then post about them. This includes the “Tide pod challenge,” for which kids swallowed packets of laundry detergent, and the “devious licks” challenge, where young people were asked to steal something from their schools.
On Thursday, students at North Monterey County High School were ordered to shelter in place after a student threatened violence with a gun, North Monterey County Unified School District Superintendent Kari Yeater announced on Facebook.
According to Chief Deputy John Thornburg of the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, a student was complaining about school on the social media app Snapchat, and another student responded with a photo of a gun and threats of violence.
It is not clear, Thornburg said, whether the gun in the photo was real, or if it was taken off the internet. In addition to a school resource officer, five units were assisting in the investigation, Thornburg said.
Also not clear was whether the incident is related to the TikTok challenge.
“It’s a hoax,” he said. “We don’t think there was going to be a shooting.”
