3 children arrested for posting shooting threat on TikTok at private Waimea school: Big Island Now

On the campus of the private Parker School, three middle school-aged children – who are not students there – were reportedly recording their video for TikTok last Thursday when one of them mentioned a shooting at the school.

All three children, estimated to be in the eighth grade at a nearby school, were arrested the following day, September 13, and charged with first-degree terroristic threatening.

Steven Dunn, the school's principal, noted that the video did not pose a direct threat because it was posted publicly on TikTok and not sent to the school.

In a recent interview, he said the children posted a video taken on campus around 4 p.m. on Sept. 12 in which one of them “very quietly” mentioned a shooting at the school.

“I felt that law enforcement needed to be involved in the case to fulfill my responsibility as a school principal and ultimately the responsibility for the safety of our students,” he said.

According to Dunn, a student at Parker School saw the video on the social media platform and shared it with his teacher, who immediately brought it to Dunn's attention. Dunn reported the incident to police the next day, September 13, and the children were arrested within hours.

Although Dunn did not reveal exactly what was said in the now-deleted video, he called it “heartbreaking” that someone would make a statement suggesting a shooting. He mentioned that the statement may have been made because “they thought it was funny.”

“I don't know their motivation. I just find it tragic that it's being spread in society as a form of humor, given the things that are happening across the country,” he said.

Dunn, who has led the elementary school for five years, said it was the first time such an incident had occurred, at least since he took over.

“We have never experienced anything even remotely comparable,” he said.

He noted that there was no evidence that any of the children had made threats while the students were on campus.

“It wasn't until 18 or 20 hours later that we were informed that the video containing the language of the shooting had been posted online,” Dunn said.

He said that “no one felt unsafe during those moments,” especially since the school often has visitors on campus due to its location in downtown Waimea and near a public park.

Dunn says the incident prompted the school to review its safety practices.

“We are certainly thinking about how we can best keep our promise to families and students to keep them safe,” he said.

Hawaii Police released general information about the incident in a recent press release, stating that the teens were on school property when they made the “verbal threat.” After being identified, the suspects were arrested, charged and released into the custody of their parents.

“The police take threats of violence extremely seriously, especially when directed against students and schools,” the department said in a statement.

Detectives with the police department's Juvenile Services Division are continuing the investigation. Hawaii County Detective Sheldon Nakamoto did not respond to an email request for more information about the incident Monday.

First-degree terroristic threatening is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. However, the penalties for juveniles accused of this offense often vary under the juvenile justice system.

According to a Washington Post database, there have been 417 school shootings in Colorado since the Columbine High School massacre in 1999.

Less than two weeks ago, on September 6, a 16-year-old student shot and killed a 15-year-old in the restroom at Joppatowne High School in Maryland.

Two days earlier, on September 4, four people were killed and nine others were hospitalized in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. The suspected shooter is 14-year-old Colt Gray, a student at the school.

On Monday, September 16, an 11-year-old middle school student was charged with a felony after threatening to commit mass murder at Creekside Middle School in Port Orange, Florida, CNN reported.

The story says that investigators found fake guns and other weapons on the 11-year-old, as well as a list of people he wanted to kill, but the child reportedly says it was “all a joke.”