WORCESTER, Mass. — Police and school districts across the country are warning families of a viral post on the social media app TikTok, challenging followers to call in bomb threats and school shootings on Friday. While the posts circulating among kids do not appear to be a credible threat or have any local connection, some police departments are increasing their patrols at local schools as a precaution.
The social media threat comes as two freshmen at Worcester Technical High School are facing charges for sending a message about a school shooting because they were unhappy with an employee and then posting the message on Instagram, according to a school official.
School safety and policing are a big topic among city and school leaders in Worcester, as the city plans to remove all police officers from school buildings by the end of the year. Worcester city councilors narrowly voted in March to remove all school resource officers (SROs) by the end of the 2021 calendar year.
Based on a proposal by the city’s school safety task force, SROs will be replaced by school liaison officers (SLOs), who are also police officers but rather than be stationed in school buildings will remain within assigned quadrants for arrival, dismissal and other times when needed. Some school committee members expressed disapproval of the new plan during Thursday’s school committee meeting.
“I have to respectfully feel it’s a mistake to remove the SROs, especially in this time of gun violence in our society,” said School Committee member John Monfredo. “More importantly, students have spoken to me in the past. They have enjoyed meeting the SROs, enjoyed talking to them, and some have said that they hope to go on to be police officers or go on to criminal law.”
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“I’m just not sure that we’re there,” added School Committee member Laura Clancey. “Are we ready with training? Are we ready to remove the SROs and implement the SLO plan, especially given everything that our schools have dealt with this week? That’s one of my big questions. Are we ready to roll this out in January?”
But advocates of removing police from school buildings cite national police reform moving in that direction, research showing no difference in response times and a study indicating police presence leads to more children of color being arrested.
“The importance of school-based support, additional adjustment counselors, restorative justice and letting students own the safety of their school building,” said School Committee member John Foley. “We have to do that as much as we can, to engage the students in the process and make them feel like they really have a say and they own what’s going to happen in their own building.”
City leaders say additional adjustment counselors, behavioral specialists, guidance counselors and programs will ensure students have all the resources to be safe and healthy in school under the new plan.
“The most important thing for us was the safety of our students, our teachers, our faculty and our families,” said Asst. City Manager Eric Batista at Thursday’s meeting.
Asked whether Worcester Police would increase their patrols at school Friday in response to the TikTok threat, Lt. Sean Murtha did not say, but told Boston 25 News the social media post “started with a national message with no connection to Worcester, but we will still remain vigilant as always.”
In their letters to families, several other police departments and school districts ask parents to remind their children about proper use of social media and to remain vigilant and report threats.
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