Teenagers in Kentucky charged with terroristic threatening after participating in a new TikTok challenge

The Oldham County Police in the United States’ Kentucky have reported that three teenagers have been charged with terroristic threatening due to their involvement in a recent TikTok challenge. These students, all aged 15, were separately charged in incidents that occurred since the commencement of the school year earlier this month.

The teenagers, as reported by the New York Post, engaged in three separate instances of making bomb threats to their teachers at the Oldham County High School, specifically on August 14, 15, and 17. These incidents were linked to the TikTok challenge, which encourages students to record videos of themselves falsely informing teachers that there is a bomb or gun in their backpacks, purportedly as a “joke.”

The county police stated that two out of the three 15-year-olds have been charged with second-degree terroristic threatening, while the remaining individual has been charged with third-degree terroristic threatening. Given that the students are minors, their names and other identifying information have not been disclosed by the officials.

In a similar occurrence, a fourth 15-year-old student from the nearby South Oldham High School also faced charges of harassing communications, reportedly influenced by the same challenge, as per the Post’s report.

All four teenagers have been suspended, and before being allowed to return to school, they are required to undergo a mental health evaluation, according to district officials who communicated this message to parents. The district officials emphasized that such behavior carries grave consequences and that students engaging in such actions are not only subjected to school-level discipline but are also prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for threatening a public school.

Over the years, authorities have cautioned parents and children about various TikTok challenges, including those encouraging pranks like breaking doors or engaging in car thefts. These challenges have led to actions at the district, state, and federal levels of the US government to either prohibit or restrict the use of TikTok due to concerns about security. Montana notably became the first state this year to ban the app, citing perceived security risks.