KENNEWICK, Wash. – The Kennewick Police Department (KPD) and Richland Police Department (RSD) are investigating a school shooting threat posted on TikTok.
According to KPD, the threat was a comment posted on a TikTok video reading, “Mass cms school shooting on January 6th 12:30” that was screenshotted. This screenshot was brought to the police by a Richland School District student after it was sent to them on Snapchat.
The commented threat seen in the screenshot was made by an account with a single follower, not following any other accounts, and has a bunch of random letters as a name, according to KPD.
There is speculation that the comment is connected to Chinook Middle School, but KPD specifies that nothing connects the threat to Chinook Middle School.
Following an investigation by the Richland Police Department Criminal Investigations Division, a Richland School District student was identified as a suspect.
They are currently at the Benton County Juvenile Detention Center after being arrested for felony threats.
According to RPD, this online threat appears to be a prank.
As a precaution, additional officers will be present at Chinook Middle School on Monday, and a full-time school resource officer will be at all middle and high schools. RPD will increase its presence at all schools throughout the week.
KPD and RPD advise students to report threats if they find them to police and adults.
