A 14-year-old Derry Area High School student will be charged with making terroristic threats and disorderly conduct for a statement state police said she made Friday regarding a nationwide string of threats on social media made against school districts.
The girl, who was not identified, allegedly made a statement on a Facebook page “referencing the nationwide TikTok threat of school shootings,” according to Trooper John Robertson of the Kiski Valley station.
“This was determined not to be a viable threat and school resumed as usual at Derry Area School District,” Robertson said in a statement.
The girl will be cited in juvenile court.
Assistant Superintendent Gregory A. Ferencak confirmed that the girl was a Derry student but declined further comment, including whether she would be disciplined by the school district.
“I will tell you that this involved no direct threat against the school district,” Ferencak said.
Last week, a social media warning of potential violence at schools across the United States on Dec. 17 — that most deemed not credible — had police and districts across Western Pennsylvania on alert.
Many area school districts, including Derry, added patrols around schools and increased security inside buildings after the vague message began to circulate Thursday on TikTok and other social media platforms.
Derry Area Superintendent Eric P. Curry addressed the TikTok threats in a letter posted Thursday to parents and the public on the district’s website.
“The Derry Area School District has become aware of a troubling post that has been shared widely this week on the social media platform TikTok. The post refers to a threat to school safety ‘for every school in the USA, even elementary’, on Friday, Dec. 17,” Curry wrote. “While we do not believe the threat to be credible, we are monitoring the situation and taking it seriously.”
