BOZEMAN — A TikTok challenge circulating across the U.S. encourages threats of violence against schools on Friday, December 17, and has drawn a response from school districts across Montana, including the Bozeman School District.
Casey Bertram, interim superintendent for Bozeman Schools, said in an email to families that the district is working with law enforcement and closely monitoring the situation but does not believe the threat to be credible.
The TikTok challenge identifies December 17 as "National Shoot Up Your School Day" and urges students to threaten violence against their school.
Bertram said School Resource Officers will be present and visible in Bozeman schools on Friday. The district will also have increased Bozeman Police patrols near school sites on Friday as an added precaution.
"As a district, we take every threat seriously and students face the possibility of suspension or expulsion and legal consequences for making threats," Bertram wrote in his email.
The interim superintendent also urged parents to be attentive to their children's use of social media and to reinforce the need to report any potential threat seen on social media or elsewhere.
The response from other school districts across Montana has ranged from increased police patrols to shutting down school altogether on Friday.
We will update this story with any further responses from other school districts in Gallatin County.
