NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — Schools across the country were on high alert Friday due to a social media challenge on TikTok.
People on the app encouraged others to call in threats to schools Friday. Schools across the First Coast added extra security as a precaution, but said thankfully, nothing happened.
A spokesperson for the Nassau County School District said threats on Snapchat circulated Thursday. The Snapchats, the spokesperson said, targeted Fernandina Beach Middle School, Yulee Middle School and Southside Elementary School.
The district called parents Thursday to tell them about the threats on Snapchat and the TikTok challenge. Law enforcement also stepped up security at all of the schools across the county Friday, including adding detectives, out of an abundance of caution.
The district's spokesperson said the Nassau County Sheriff's Office is still investigating the Snapchat threats. He said those involved could face criminal charges, and consequences within the district.
Fernandina Beach Police Deputy Chief Jeff Tambasco said they take every threat, credible or not, seriously.
"The Police Department and the school district had received some social media threats, basically, across the nation," he said. "Even though these threats were not credible, we felt there was still a need to ensure the public that the police department's striving to make their children safe at school. So, we provided extra patrols at all of our schools and we just want everyone to know that we have all of our resources dedicated to protecting our children here in our community," Tambasco said.
Amie Waelty's son goes to one of the schools mentioned in the Snapchat threats. She kept all of her children home Friday
"For me, it's just a little too close to home that they, you know, initially called out the school names by name and not just saying this is a nationwide thing," she said.
"It's not worth the risk at all. My kids are my life and they're all I have, so it's not worth the risk for me," Waelty said.
TikTok issued a statement on Twitter that read in part, "We handle even rumored threats with utmost seriousness."
The statement went on to say they haven't found evidence of these threats originating or spreading on TikTok and said the FBI and Department of Homeland Security haven't found credible threats either. TikTok said it did find videos talking about the "rumor" and warning others to stay safe. It said it's removing "alarmist warnings that violate our misinformation policy."