Two Centennial School District students have been expelled and face juvenile charges related to internet threats against teachers and others at the school starting April 12.
Seward County Sheriff Mike Vance said May 1 the students were identified and contacted with their parents on April 30 after a Nebraska State Patrol cyber crime specialist identified the location of the computer on which the threats were being made.
The case has been turned over to the Seward County Attorney’s office, and Vance said a court date has been set for the students’ charges. No names have been released due to the students’ ages.
Vance’s department issued a statement on Facebook April 30 saying no other students appeared to be involved with the threats and there were no active threats against the school, staff or students at the time.
However, Vance said he will continue to have a smaller number of deputies at the school the week of May 3.
The online threats included a series of TikTok posts threatening violence at the school, including posts that showed Centennial staff and teachers hanging by nooses at the school, Vance said. Other posts showed blood in the school gymnasium.
There was an “escalation” of posts beginning April 21 which prompted law enforcement to increase their presence at the school, Vance said.
Centennial Superintendent Seth Ford said May 1 the district appreciates law enforcement’s assistance and actions and assuring Centennial remained a “safe place to come learn.”
After law enforcement was notified of the online threats April 13, Seward County sheriff’s deputies and Nebraska State Patrol officers assisted with security measures at the school, which included using specific entrances and checking all backpacks as students entered.
“We just tightened up what we always do making sure kids are accounted for throughout the school day,” Ford said.
The sheriff’s investigator obtained subpoenas for both TikTok and Google to locate the unique Internet Protocol or IP address for the computer used to make the threats on the TikTok social media platform. Vance said the messages had been routed through multiple states.
TikTok froze the account as soon as it was identified, Vance said.
He asked the State Patrol for assistance in translating that IP address into a useable location then officials got an emergency contact for the account via Windstream.
Ford said parents, teachers and staff did a good job of communicating during the incident.
“I was impressed with everyone. Our students continued to come to school. Parents did a good job of communicating with us,” he said.
Teachers and staff were able to provide a stable environment for students, he said.
Ford said some students stayed home from school during the investigation, but the school hosted the district music competition starting at 3 p.m. April 23 and all day April 24 without incident.
Before the incident, Centennial had given students April 24 off for the contest, and students were gone or being dismissed as other students started arriving on April 23.
In a separate incident, Vance said a Centennial student would be facing juvenile charges for activity that may have been inspired by the posts.
A Centennial student reported overhearing another student tell people to stay home from school the next day because he planned to “shoot up the school.”
Vance said the TikTok posts continued after that student was in custody on April 20, so he did not believe they were involved.
