Tri-Cities police say school shooting threat on TikTok is a hoax. Student arrested
Kennewick police want community members to know that a potential school shooting threat going around on social media is a hoax.
A Richland schools student accused of making the threat was taken into custody Sunday afternoon on suspicion of making felony threats, according to an update from Richland police.
The student was booked into the Benton County Juvenile Detention Center.
The message was reported to police after a Richland school district student was sent a Snapschat message from a friend with a screenshot of a threatening comment their friend had seen on a TikTok video.
The comment read, “Mass cms school shooting on January 6th 12:30.” It was made by an account Kennewick police believe is a spoof, AI generated or “dummy” account setup in order to cause disruption and trouble, according to a social media post from the department.
The rumor appeared to get around, and grow. Kennewick police said they wanted to address the speculation because what had been a vague comment on a video was now rumored to be a video showing a Kennewick middle school logo.
Despite the speculation, police say there is nothing at this time that connects the threatening comment to the Kennewick middle school.
“Unfortunately we have investigated multiple threats this year that originate from social media and as students share them they take on a life of their own in the school district they attend,” Kennewick police wrote.
“We are thankful the RSD student brought it to the attention of police. We would encourage parents to have a conversation with their children about reporting threats they observe to them or another adult right away, instead of sharing the threat further.”
As a precaution and in order to ensure students, parents and faculty feel comfortable enough to attend class Monday, Kennewick police will have additional officers at Chinook Middle School.
The district also has full time school resource officers at all of its middle and high schools.
Kennewick police will continue to investigate the origin of the threat, but said there is no indication it is credible.
This story was originally published January 4, 2025 at 4:08 PM.
