School districts across North Texas are on high alert Wednesday after online threats forced some to cancel class and football games.
Police said the threats are not credible, but they're part of a growing trend on social media that districts said they are taking seriously.
"Here in the last several days, we have received several dozens of hoax reports of violence towards our schools,” Fort Worth Police Public Information Officer Jimmy Pollozani said.
Cedar Hill ISD reported a more direct threat amid the flurry of hoaxes.
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“It was really unique to have one that we knew that was directly affecting Cedar Hill only to see that other districts as well are dealing with their own issues,” said Tierney Tinnin with Cedar Hill ISD communications.
It was in connection to the recent murder of a 17-year-old Dallas ISD student and possible retaliation. A parent notified the school of the threat.
“We put our safety measures in place, which was additional police officers on campus as well as random searches, and just heightened awareness is what we call it," Tinnin said. "Being vigilant and just making sure that we noticed anything that looks a little out of ordinary.”
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Arlington ISD, Fort Worth ISD, DeSoto ISD, Irving ISD, Waxahachie ISD, and Kemp ISD reported receiving threats on Wednesday. In all cases, local district police have found the threats to be a hoax or not credible with no real threat to students or teachers.
Police want to make sure students know if they are 17 years old or tried as adults, they can face serious consequences for making threats.
"The penalties range from a terrorist threat is a Class B misdemeanor," Pollozani said. "It is a $2,000 fine and 180 days in the county jail. So, it is very serious.”
However, districts are not taking any chances.
Kemp ISD in Kaufman County announced late Tuesday night that school will be canceled Wednesday so that district police can conduct a thorough investigation into the threat.
In DeSoto ISD, a 16-year-old was apprehended after an anonymous tip about a student potentially carrying a firearm at DeSoto High School prompted the campus to enter lockdown on Tuesday morning, said the DeSoto Police Department.
Due to that and the recent concerns across area schools, the school district changed this week's athletic schedules as a precaution.
Click here to see the schedule.
Irving ISD posted a message to parents on social media Tuesday night that their police department believes the threats are a hoax circulating mainly in West Texas.
"As you may know, our middle schools are named after state heroes, and two of our high schools are named after national heroes. As such, the names are common and shared by multiple schools in the state and nation, sometimes leading to confusion," said a statement by the district.
Irving ISD has not announced any changes to its security protocols this week.
Meantime, Waxahachie ISD posted a note to parents saying they are increasing police presence on and around all campuses effective immediately.
They also called on parents to talk to their kids about threats.
"You can help us by ensuring your children understand that school safety is not a joking matter, and even a joke about a threat to student safety could be considered by WISD and WPD to be a terroristic threat. We fully investigate and punish to the fullest extent of our student code of conduct and Texas state law any threat that is made," the district said in a statement. "In addition, please ensure your children understand that sharing social media posts with perceived threats only exacerbates the issue, and they should immediately report these types of posts to campus administrators, school marshals, or School Resource Officers rather than sharing the posts with their friends."
Fort Worth ISD is also increasing police presence at schools. The school district received threats specific to Southwest High School and Wedgwood Middle School.
A note sent to parents at both schools outlined the details of the threat.
“As you may be aware, there was a concerning social media post circulating this morning. Local authorities are investigating the claim and do not believe the information posted is credible. However, please know that we take all matters of student safety seriously. As a precaution, today we will have an increased police presence on campus to further ensure our school remains safe,” the statement reads.
Security experts said they have a hunch about why this is happening now. Normally, these threats increase closer to the holiday season.
"It's a little bit unusual to see something like this happen early in the year, but I do think that anniversary dates can be a catalyst for these. We know that today is 9/11, and so I think that that triggers some people,” said Craig Miller, a school security expert and former police chief for Dallas ISD. “It could be the anniversary of shootings like Columbine, Sandy Hook Uvalde, or Santa Fe that could trigger [these threats] as well."
He said closing school with no credible threat can send a wrong message because copycats might think it's a way to get out of class.
Either way, the FBI said hoax threats are serious federal crimes.
"We're working in a time today where there's a lot of things going on in young people's lives. A lot of emotional issues are taking place, and a lot of kids making outcries. We just don't have enough people to help them,” Miller said. “So it's really incumbent upon law enforcement and school administration to make very tough decisions."
