GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A national social media trend caused some northeast Wisconsin schools to take extra precautions on Friday.
The trend warned today as “school shooting day.” Videos of the vague warning have been circulating on social media.
The Green Bay Area Public School District had additional officers parked outside its schools on Friday.
“This TikTok issue that showed up earlier this week, unfortunately for us that was compounded by the fact that we had already had a couple of threats made to Preble High School,” Green Bay Schools superintendent Stephen Murley said.
Murley says the district worked with Green Bay Police to stress safety.
“We’ve been in constant communication all week with all these threats, with all these investigations, and we felt that it was in everyone’s best interest to have an increased presence at our local schools, our high schools this afternoon because of the threats we’re seeing nationwide,” Green Bay Police Operations commander Kevin Warych said.
Murley, along with school leaders across the country say the social media trends were not a direct threat at any school in particular.
The post warns students of December 17 being a supposed school shooting day, aiming to make people aware.
The district had a 37.4 percent absence rate Friday.
That includes Preble students who were virtual.
Last Friday, the absence rate was about 19.1 percent.
“I think after what happened in Oxford, Michigan and what’s happening in other incidents around the country in the past 10, 20 years, I think parents have a heightened level of emotion about this. And I think many of them looked at this and thought better safe than sorry,” Murley said.
Better safe than sorry, with this message for student and parents: “None of us are in this alone,” Murley said.
“We’re in this together,” Warych said.
Murley wants to thank the community for reporting any potential threats to the district.
