Dear School Community,

Today, students and teachers alerted our high school administration to a TikTok post that stated verbatim,

“For anyone wondering on the the 17th, there will a massive school shooting threat across america not 100% sure but there’s a possibili.” Another part of the story read, “on friday there is supposed to be a massive school sh00ting threat across america.”

Please understand, NO students in the Garnet Valley School District were connected to this post, and none have made any threats. Although we take all school safety issues seriously, the social media post did not indicate a direct threat against any particular school district, nor was there evidence that linked Garnet Valley students to the social media activity.  As a precaution, we have notified the Pennsylvania State Police. They will maintain a stronger presence within the community during school hours, especially on the 17th. 

To assist in the investigation, our team notified the Pennsylvania Criminal Intelligence Center (PaCIC) and provided copies of the TikTok pages that were brought to our attention. We are thankful to the teacher who brought this concern to us, and to the students who cooperated by providing pictures of the messages to further the investigation. Our team will continue to partner with other districts and law enforcement entities to uncover all who are responsible. 

Threats of this nature often lead to “copycat” behavior as some may believe it will trigger a day off from school or provide the guilty parties attention or notoriety. Please reinforce with your children that threats, whether serious or not, are a crime and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  Students engaged in such activity can also expect severe, school-based disciplinary action separate from criminal prosecution.

As we know, keeping our community safe is everyone’s responsibility, and we appreciate the support and cooperation of all those who brought this issue to our attention. 

Sincerely,

Dr. Marc Bertrando, Superintendent