A wave of school threats hits Minnesota schools, experts say even unfounded ones impact students

Minnesota Now

Two charter schools in St. Paul closed Thursday and a third stepped up its security due to threats of violence that have been circulating online — mainly through social media platforms TikTok and Snapchat.

The posts mentioned several schools in St. Paul and throughout the Twin Cities metro. St. Paul Public Schools said in an email to parents that the threats are not believed to be credible and noted many of the posts came from outside the district. And the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension spokesperson said in a statement that the state and local law enforcement are monitoring the situation.

It's not a unique one, schools across the country have fielded similar threats in the wake of a recent shooting that killed four people in Winder, Georgia.

Amy Klinger is co-founder of the Educator's School Safety Network and works with schools nationwide to prevent and respond to violence. She joined MPR News guest host Nina Moini.