State Police Confirm Widespread School Shooting Threats Across New York

There seems to be a new and disturbing trend sweeping the Empire State. Multiple school districts are reporting instances of school shooting threats, mainly over social media. The New York State Police is weighing in on these scary situations.

In a statement released by New York State Police on their social media platforms, they confirmed that these threats, which seem to be coming from out of the area, are a widespread issue. State Police officials say,

The New York State Police, local law enforcement agencies, and school districts are fully aware of the threats circulating across the state. Every threat is taken seriously and thoroughly investigated by the law enforcement agencies involved, and we remain in constant communication with each other. We ask that everyone remain vigilant and continue to report any direct threats, suspicious activity and concerns. We also ask that these social media posts only be reported to law enforcement and not continually shared on social media.

That may shed some light on the motives of these individuals posting these threats. Maybe it is to instill fear in people, but maybe it's notoriety. People sharing these threatening posts are only making the situation worse and the job of law enforcement that much harder.

We have seen several local instances of these online threats. In the Utica City School District alone, there have been three separate threats this past week. In two of those instances, a 12-year-old and a 15-year-old student were arrested and charged with "Making a Terroristic Threat." The New Hartford School District also fell victim to an unfounded, but still disturbing threat over social media.

Heed the advice of state officials and do your best to remain vigilant, educate your students about online safety and report ANYTHING that may appear suspicious regardless of how crazy you may think it is.