BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — A social media post threatening school violence that surfaced in Florida earlier this week has made its way to Minnesota, with both the Anoka-Hennepin Schools and Brooklyn Park police saying it is not credible.
Police say the threat appears to have started on Snapchat, and that students in Brooklyn Park began to share the message which named no specific school as a target. Brooklyn Park authorities say several other cities across Minnesota also fielded concerns about the school threat.
At this time, police say, the threat does not appear to be credible.
Anoka-Hennepin Schools spokesperson Jim Skelly confirms that the district was informed of the threat that was spreading via social media, and the decision was made to inform parents. Skelly also says the post has been copied and shared across the metro, adding that it appears to be nearly identical to the one that spurred concerns in south Florida.
Anoka-Hennepin Schools made the decision to stay open for the day on Friday based on advice from law enforcement. Spokesperson Skelly says there was a visible and increased police presence at Anoka High School today, with police liaison officers staffed as normal at all secondary sites.
Friday's incident follows several others earlier this year that forced Minnesota schools and local law enforcement to deploy resources to ensure student safety following threats that turned out to be bogus. In September of 2022 bogus calls reporting school shootings were made to 14 schools or districts across the state in what was later deemed to be a "swatting" campaign.
Swatting is defined as making a prank call to police or emergency services in an attempt to summon a large number of armed officers to a particular address.
Among the communities impacted that day were Rochester, Minneapolis, Austin, Alexandria, Cloquet, Mankato, New Ulm and St. Paul with valuable resources being deployed after reports of an active shooter. Fortunately all of those messages were also bogus, perhaps part of an organized effort targeting schools and communities across the country.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) found that based on a similar voice and tone making the calls, it appears they came from one single individual using an internet number.
"Unfortunately, disruptive prank calls such as this have become a national trend. States like Texas, Virginia, and California have reported multiple calls of fake active shooter or mass casualty events at schools," St. Paul Police said in a statement following a false shooting report at Johnson High School.
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