As students, parents and school administrators worry about violence on campuses, a growing number of districts are coping with the learning disruptions and psychological damage that comes through fake threats, reports The Oklahoman. On Sept. 17, threats of gun violence forced Yukon, Ok., schools to cancel classes for 9,000 students. Posted on social media, the threats turned out not credible. Two students were arrested for terrorism by hoax. The same day, 25 miles northeast, a man called 911 and said, “So I’m in a school right now and I have a gun on me and there’s this kid I’m about to shoot.” A school resource officer immediately put the school on lockdown. Three nearby schools were locked down. Officers executed a room-by-room sweep, and within ten minutes determined the threat not credible.
“Although there are no national statistics on how many threats are made annually, the FBI estimates there are thousands,” said the FBI’s Andrea Anderson. Oklahoma police have dealt with a rash of hoax school threats since the fall semester started. Social media platforms make it easier for people to issue school threats. The Department of Justice has awarded more than $85.3 million to fund school security around the U.S., including educating students and faculty, and supporting first-responders. Some experts caution that threats are causing overreactions from administrators. “Many schools are prematurely evacuating or closing, and then saying ‘we’re doing it out of an abundance of caution while we investigate,’ ” said Ken Trump of National School Safety and Security Services. “Administrators are confident that it is a hoax but they’re responding to an emotional appeasement of parents and staff, and setting a precedent that students know they’re going to close the school. Nine out of 10 will likely turn out to be a hoax, but nobody wants to be number 10.”