Many Bay Area school districts are warning parents and students of possible threats being made at campuses on Friday as part of an apparent challenge going viral on the social media app TikTok, with one high school in Gilroy planning a preemptive closure for the day as a result.
The districts have all noted that the TikTok challenge appears to be a national trend and have said none of the threats is believed to be credible.
"A lot of the challenges that they throw out there to kids puts them in a bad situation," said parent Pete Brown.
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Gilroy police said that "out of an abundance of caution," classes at Gilroy High School have been canceled for Friday.
The Santa Clara County Office of Education said authorities have been in touch with TikTok, which has a security team that addresses misuse of social media, and encouraged parents to talk to their students about staying safe and how to report any suspicious activity.
TikTok released a statement saying, "We're working with law enforcement to look into warnings about potential violence at schools even though we have not found evidence of such threats originating or spreading via TikTok."
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Other school districts in the region, including Mt. Diablo Unified and Pleasanton Unified, have sent out similar warnings but have said there is no reason to believe students should stay home from school Friday.
The FBI said it is aware and is trying to determine if the threats are credible.
