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False threats investigated by several North Texas school districts
School districts across North Texas worked overtime to reassure parents that a series of threats spreading on social media are not credible.
LEWISVILLE, Texas – School districts across North Texas worked overtime to reassure parents that a series of threats spreading on social media are not credible.
Many of the so-called threats reference violence or riots on campus.
Most of them are the same from school to school and they’ve been spreading among kids and teens across the country.
Police have investigated them and found them to be false, but it doesn’t stop parents from worrying.
At Lewisville ISD, after multiple threats all week, the district called Lewisville police and asked if they could post updates to try to calm parents’ nerves.
However, several parents quickly called the school Friday to get their children out of class.
Some parents at Hebron High School in Carrollton didn’t take any chances, picking their kids up early Friday afternoon.
“Everyone was like sitting ducks waiting to get their kid,” one parent said. “Especially in today’s society, common sense goes out the window.”
Several police departments in North Texas, like Lewisville, launched investigations after violent school threats surfaced through social media, spreading like wildfire.
Lewisville police said they do not believe any of the threats were real.
“Included a picture that we had found as a file picture that other people have used to threaten other campuses in the past,” said Matt Martucci, with Lewisville PD.
According to Lewisville PD, multiple threats across different campuses were investigated over the last 48 hours.
One reportedly involved a school shooting that would happen during a specific time of the day.
“You can’t depend on it being a hoax,” parent Jeff Petty said.
Petty said that as soon as the district sent out an email, he called Hebron HS and his son was allowed to drive home.
“Then, from there, it was a matter of trying to figure out exactly what was going on,” he added.
“This is a national wide thing happening this week. This is not just isolated to Lewisville,” Martucci said.
Several North Texas police departments told FOX 4 they’ve seen a spike in threats since the deadly Oxford, Michigan school shooting last week.
None of the threats have been credible.
However, the panic from parents is being felt from Flower Mound to Waxahachie to Keller, where Fort Worth police officers were parked outside Fossil Hill Middle School Friday.
In a letter from Keller ISD, parents were asked to “remind your student about the importance of not reposting threats.”
An extra police presence was also seen outside Forney High School Friday afternoon.
Forney ISD said a fake social media post encouraged students to walk out of school Friday.
A spokesperson for the district said “schools across the area are dealing the fake post, and the post information is being changed as it is passed from person to person.”
Meanwhile, the rumors put parents on high alert.
“When it’s you and you’re living it, it’s very, very scary, very, very surreal,” Petty said.
Lewisville police said they investigate every single threat reported.
Once the source is determined, the student could face criminal charges.
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