Davidson County Sheriff's Office continues due diligence despite frustration behind threats of school violence - Lexington Dispatch
Threats of school violence have become increasingly difficult for law enforcement, especially when it comes through social media platforms.
The biggest problem is weeding out the credible threats from the pranks, which takes valuable time and resources that could be dedicated investigating other crimes.
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“Regardless of how creditable the threat is, we can’t take a chance,” said Sgt. David Blake, Davidson County Sheriff’s Office Investigative Unit.
Last week, school systems were on high alert after a rumor was spread through the highly popular app Tik Tok of nationwide violence in schools. These threats were vague and did not mention any specific schools, but it was enough for some school systems to take extra precautions.
West Davidson High School reportedly asked its students not to bring backpacks to school that day, according to news outlets.
In an incident not related to the Tik Tok rumor, three middle school students in Davidson County were charged with making false reports of mass violence to schools.
On Friday, two students at North Davidson Middle School and one student at E. Lawson Brown Middle school allegedly made false reports to other students “through electronic means that an act of violence was imminent at their school when in fact there was nothing occurring”, according to the Davidson County Sheriff’s Department.
The specifics about how the threats were made and what the threats were have not been released by law enforcement.
Request for comment or further information about the incident from Davidson County Schools was not returned.
The names of the students are not released because they were all under the age of 18 and were charged on juvenile petitions.
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This is the second time this year that law enforcement has dealt with Tik Tok trends or social media challenges involving schools.
In September, several school systems restricted student’s access to bathrooms after students recorded themselves destroying school property as part of a “challenge”.
Even though they may seem like harmless gossip on social media, law enforcement must follow up with every threat of violence toward schools.
“It can be very difficult because there are so many different platforms and many of them are unregulated,” said Blake. “And depending on how it is set up, it can be very easy or very difficult to get information. It depends on what the company is willing to release and a lot of time it requires the legal process, which can take time we don’t have.”
According to the education advocacy group, Education Week, website there have been 32 school shootings nationwide this year, 24 since August 1.
The most recent was a shooting on Nov. 30 where a student killed four people and injured seven at a Michigan high school. It was the deadliest school shooting since May 2018.
Related story:Is your child safe from online predators? What you might not know can surprise you.
Blake said trends, such as threats on social media, can come a go in spurts, but when you are dealing with potential violence in schools every comment should be taken seriously and reported to law enforcement.
“Instead of posting on concerned citizens or a yard sale site, call us and let us know,” said Blake. “As frustrating as it is, we will do it over and over a thousand times if it means we don’t have a school shooting. If we can prevent them in anyway, we don’t mind.”
General news reporter Sharon Myers can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @LexDispatchSM.
source: https://www.the-dispatch.com/story/news/2021/12/22/davidson-county-law-enforcement-continues-watch-threats-school-violence-nc-tik-tok-social-media/8969978002/
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