TikTok-driven 'National Shoot up Your School Day' panic leads to several closures but no shootings


At least six districts in states ranging from New York to Montana closed schools Friday in response to a viral TikTok trend that warned of widespread school violence, The New York Times reported.
Officials in Utah alleged that the trend, known as "National Shoot up Your School Day," started as an attempt by students to get a day off school.
Aaron Mak, writing for Slate, argues that the germ of the story was more likely a Facebook screenshot that may or may not have originated in Toole County, Utah.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The anonymous author of the post threatened to carry out a shooting on Dec. 17 at a school called "GHS." There is a Granger High School in Toole County, but one school administrator told local CBS affiliate KUTV that the threat "came from out of state." Granger did not cancel classes Friday, but Gilroy High School, located outside San Francisco, California, did. Gilroy police in turn concluded the threat was actually referring to Garfield High School in Los Angeles, while other officials suggested one of the several high schools in Colorado with the initials GHS.
On Friday, TikTok said it had found no content actively promoting school violence, only videos expressing concerns about the possibility of school violence. "We're working to remove alarmist warnings," TikTok posted on its official Twitter account. "If we did find promotion of violence on our platform, we'd remove and report it to law enforcement."
Even without a credible threat, federal law enforcement still expressed concern. One source told CNN that, although the rumors about nationwide school shootings were baseless, an unstable individual exposed to them might have felt encouraged to carry out an actual attack.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
May 31 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include how much to pay for a pardon, medical advice from a brain worm, and a simple solution to the national debt.
-
5 costly cartoons about the national debt
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on the USA's financial hole, rare bipartisan agreement, and Donald Trump and Mike Johnson.
-
Green goddess salad recipe
The Week Recommends Avocado can be the creamy star of the show in this fresh, sharp salad
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC parade
speed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack
-
2 Israel Embassy staff shot dead at DC Jewish museum
speed read The suspected gunman chanted 'free, free Palestine'
-
Bombing of fertility clinic blamed on 'antinatalist'
speed read A car bombing injured four people and damaged a fertility clinic and nearby buildings in Palm Springs, California
-
Suspect charged after 11 die in Vancouver car attack
Speed Read Kai-Ji Adam Lo drove an SUV into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day festival
-
Kenya arrests alleged ant smugglers
speed read Two young Belgians have been charged for attempting to smuggle ants out of the country to exotic pet buyers
-
Judge ends Eric Adams case, Trump leverage
Speed Read Federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams were dismissed, as requested by Trump's Justice Department
-
Texas arrests midwife on felony abortion charges
Speed Read Maria Margarita Rojas and an employee at one of her clinics are the first to be criminally charged under Texas' near-total abortion ban
-
South Carolina to execute prisoner by firing squad
speed read Death row inmate Brad Sigmon prefers the squad over the electric chair or lethal injection, his lawyer said