Sheriff: TikTok threat on Sauquoit Valley student's account deemed not credible
There was an increase in law enforcement at Sauquoit Valley High School Thursday after a threat was posted on a student's TikTok account, according to the Oneida County Sheriff's Office.
The threat came in the form of a comment posted on the student's video, Oneida County Sheriff Sgt. Carey Phair said Thursday. Deputes were alerted to it Wednesday night and eventually deemed it noncredible.
Phair declined to comment on the nature of the threat or whether it was made by another student, but said it not specify a time or place and did not mention the high school. The video itself was nonthreatening.
School administration has been assisting in the investigation. Superintendent Ronald Wheelock said he had nothing to add to the sheriff's office account.
"We received a call from the sheriff's office regarding a threat-of-violence comment to a TikTok post," he wrote in an email. "The comment did not specify a school or school district. The report of the TikTok was reported directly to the sheriff's office."
And the sheriff's office determined that there was no risk to the Sauquoit Valley schools, he said.
Phair declined to say if a suspect had been found or if the school had disciplined anyone. No charges have been filed at this time, and the incident remains under investigation, he said.
It's not the first social media-related threat at an area school. In December, school districts responded to nationwide news of bombing and shooting threats being made on TikTok, believed to have originated in California.
More: Oneida County schools deem TikTok threats not credible, but beef up police presence
More: Utica police: Instagram threat that spread among Proctor High students, parents deemed from Florida
In September, security was increased at Thomas R. Proctor High School in Utica as a precaution after a threat on Instagram deemed to be out of Florida circulated among parents and students.
Extra special patrol officers — campus security officers employed by the sheriff's office — were on the Sauquoit Valley High School campus Thursday, along with deputies stopping in throughout the day, said Phair, who is the sergeant in charge of school resource officers and special patrol officers.
"In today's day and age, we get these things — not on a daily basis — but it's been a different year for sure," he said of social media threats.
Amy Roth is the health and education reporter for the Observer-Dispatch. Email Amy Roth at aroth@gannett.com.
H. Rose Schneider covers public safety, breaking and trending news for the Observer-Dispatch. Email Rose at hschneider@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: TikTok threat at Sauquoit Valley High School not credible
