On Wednesday morning, various schools in South Carolina fell victim to a new challenge that’s supposedly going viral on TikTok. This particular TikTok challenge has its participants call up the local police department in their area and threaten that there is a school shooter on campus. Police officers will most likely take calls like this seriously given how serious school shootings are in America. Unfortunately, all these shooting reports turned out to be hoaxes. This leaves us with the question: what exactly is the active shooter challenge on TikTok?
There have been plenty of TikTok challenges in the past but we think this one is on a whole other level. Previous challenges which went viral on social media platforms like TikTok would usually be harmless. Some challenges are as simple as playing a prank on a friend or a family member. However, the active shooter challenge is alarming as it not only puts other people at risk but also involves pulling a serious prank on law enforcement.
Law enforcement in South Carolina discovered a new ‘active shooter challenge’ on TikTok
There have been 18 high schools in the state of South Carolina that called for law enforcement regarding a possible school shooting. Some calls even claim that there have been shots fired on campus. These claims had school authorities on high alert and immediately evacuated the buildings to make sure that no one got hurt.
Law enforcement investigated the calls after making sure that no one was hurt. They also swept the area to ensure that there isn’t anyone threatening to shoot civilians. It turns out that all of this originated from a supposed TikTok challenge.
Here are the schools that fell victim to the ‘active shooter challenge’ from TikTok:
- Central HS
- Greenville HS
- Laurens HS
- Newberry MS
- Blythewood HS
- Robert Anderson MS
- Greenwood HS
- Hampton Elementary
- Beaufort HS
- Burke HS
- Simmons-Pinckney MS
- Myrtle Beach HS
- Myrtle Beach MS
- Conway HS
- Wilson HS
- South MS
- Brooklyn Springs Elementary
- Loris HS
The FBI also released a statement regarding the shooting hoaxes
On the day the calls came in, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) released a statement around 1:00 PM. They informed the public that they are fully aware of the reports about school shootings. Before they can make a move, though, they have to make sure that the calls are credible.
Other officers of the law released statements about the fake ‘active shooter’ calls. Richland Two responded to calls about shots fired at Blythewood High School. They determined the calls and reports to be fake.
- After doing a thorough sweep of the area and evacuating the buildings, they were sure that the call was just a hoax
- They didn’t find anyone with injuries from the shooting hoaxes and there wasn’t any evidence of gunshots in the school
The FBI also provided a statement to the public about this pointless TikTok challenge:
“The FBI is aware of the numerous swatting incidents wherein a report of an active shooter at a school is made. Similar incidents have occurred recently across the country. The FBI takes swatting very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk. While we have no information to indicate a specific and credible threat, we will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share, and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention. We urge the public to remain vigilant, and report any and all suspicious activity and/or individuals to law enforcement immediately.”
The ‘active shooter’ challenge is spreading across the United States
In the past few days, schools in the United States are being placed under a “soft” lockdown because of the growing trend of this TikTok challenge. To ensure that their students and staff are safe, authorities are asking everyone to be vigilant in case something does happen and this doesn’t turn out to be a prank.
There have been plenty of reports about teenagers threatening to shoot up their schools. Most of these threats are made on social media platforms like TikTok.
RELATED NEWS: UK to penalize TikTok: What is Children’s data privacy?
Feel free to leave any questions you may have about TikTok challenges in the comments below. Until then, stay with us here at Spiel Times for more content.
