Westport Joins Other Communities with Heightened School Security Following “Disturbing” TikTok Trend

Westport Superintendent Thomas Scarice

Good afternoon,

Late yesterday afternoon the district was informed of a disturbing trend of school violence threats on social media.  Social media posts have mentioned acts of school violence on December 17.  The CT State Department of Education shared information this morning that state law enforcement officials have determined that these threats are not credible.  The posts have not originated in our town and there have been no specific threats to our schools.  However, some of our students have mentioned this trend to faculty and administrators today.  

We are fortunate to have a very effective partnership with our local law enforcement experts, the Westport Police Department.  In addition, a security guard is assigned to each school, there is a School Resource Officer (SRO) at our high school, and the WPD has assigned an additional police officer dedicated exclusively to our school campuses.

As a precaution, the Westport Police Department has offered to station an officer outside each of our schools tomorrow for the school day.  Again, although these threats are not deemed credible or specific to Westport, at a minimum, this presence will serve to reassure any members of our school community who might have concerns about this social media trend, particularly for tomorrow.  

If you, or your child, receive any information related to specific threats to our school community, it is critically important that you make a report to the WPD and school immediately.  

Respectfully,
Thomas Scarice
Superintendent of Schools