TULSA — The Tulsa Public Schools Police team worked together to investigate an alleged threat made on social media at Central High school.
Central High school senior Clarissa Knight says she received a text this morning in their senior group chat with rumors that there would be a school shooting.
Knight says she thought it was a school prank until she found out students were arrested.
“I was having panic attacks and everything and it was making me really nervous,” Knight said.
Knight went home with her mother after hearing what happened at the school.
Senior Danai Donald also went home early, but she says she is worried about the other students.
“When I got here this morning, everyone was saying it easy prank," Donald said. "But when we seen the police, we were like, it's serious. They said they got six kids already, but it’s a rumor going around saying that it’s still two more up in there.”
Warren Pollard says it was nerve wrecking.
“I guess there were multiple people being pulled out of the classrooms for either questioning or bag search," Pollard said.
Parent David Sanders says he heard what was happening on social media.
“I just think we gotta start watching our children more," said Sanders. "I think that the kids gotta start waking up too and just start taking life serious, because at the end of the day, it's not all about violence. It’d about coming together in peace. We are here to learn."
Officials with Tulsa Public Schools sent us a statement reading:
"The Tulsa Public Schools Campus Police team is working with the team at Central High School to investigate an alleged threat made on social media. We treat every social media threat as credible until we have fully determined otherwise. In addition to partner law enforcement agencies, this process can involve a number of team members including Campus Police, school leaders and their teams, facilities and operations staff, and district leaders at minimum.
We urge parents and families to talk with their children about the importance of good digital citizenship and the severity of the potential consequences for bad decisions made online. Regardless of the original intention of the post – whether it was a joke or an expression of frustration – students who make threats on social media can face long term suspension, arrest, and even criminal charges. "
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