National Social Media Threat Trend for Schools Reaches Heartland

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Missouri (KFVS) – Threats of school shootings are spreading on social media across the country.

Such threats are popping up on Snapchat and TikTok. Some of them include lists of schools, others urge students to hug their loved ones.

According to the Courage-2 Report, Missouri's school violence reporting system, numerous threats of school shootings are circulating on social media platforms across the country.

Local districts currently discussing the issue with parents include Jackson, Twin Rivers, Charleston, Sikeston and Dexter.

Aaron Cornman, superintendent of the Poplar Bluff R-1 School District, actually learned that his district had landed on one of these shooting threat lists.

“I guess in the last few days we started to see a similar increase in Snapchat activity from students on social media,” Cornman said.

Superintendent Cornman became much more aware of the school shooting threats on social media on Wednesday when they hit him in person.

“There was a lot of talk on social media about there being an alleged list with names like Poplar Bluff schools, police, myself and the school district. None of us had received any information as of late afternoon around 4:30 yesterday, but we did send an email to area schools,” Cornman said.

Cornman showed Heartland News the email detailing these threats, which may include screenshots of a list of schools or wording telling students this may be their “last chance to hug a loved one.”

“So we as a district started to formulate our comments to parents. How do we want to convey to them the importance of talking to their children about appropriate use of cell phones and appropriate social media apps and making them aware of the impact these decisions could have on them,” Cornman said.

Krystal LeGrand has two children in the school district. We asked her about the online threats.

“Of course I feel like all parents make them super nervous and tense, but honestly I just feel like everything that happens on social media is just designed to create chaos,” LeGrand said.

LeGrand said she trusts those responsible for this school and her community to protect her children.

“I am confident that the Poplar Bluff School District and the Poplar Bluff Police Department will do everything in their power to ensure the safety of students and staff,” LeGrand said.

Superintendent Cornman said they would continue to monitor the threats and communicate with parents.

“These kids are causing a lot of drama in the community and a lot of problems that are impacting our schools. We have to deal with that,” Cornman said. So we're hoping as a district that parents will come together, join us, and understand that we're doing something to protect their children, and that they'll work with us and help teach kids how to use cell phones properly.”

The Missouri State Highway Patrol encourages school districts to report any social media threats to the Courage-2-Report website and local law enforcement.

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