Police in Princeton and other area towns to increase school security due to anonymous generic threats of violence made on social media

An anonymous threat made on TikTok and SnapChat claiming that multiple schools in the country will have shootings on Friday, Dec. 17 has school district leaders and police across the country on high alert. Police in Princeton and other area towns will increase school security due to the threats of violence.

“Through ongoing collaboration with the Princeton Police Department and other local authorities, this threat has been deemed non-credible and there is no specific threat to any PPS school,” Princeton Superintendent of Schools Carol Kelley wrote in an email to parents on Thursday. “Nonetheless, in light of recent events both locally and nationally, there will be an increased police presence tomorrow within our PPS schools.

Kelley said the police presence will be in addition to building monitors who are on-site daily at each school throughout the district.

“Another integral piece of school security is listening to one another and taking action,” Kelley said. “If we see or hear something that is concerning, we must raise an alert to individuals who can investigate and provide support. It is this collective efficacy that helps to protect us as a community.”

As a message of strength and solidarity against school violence, leaders at the district’s six schools are calling on the Princeton Public Schools community to join together and wear school spirit wear, school colors, or orange, the color for anti-gun violence, on Friday.

“We have a shared responsibility for the safety and well-being of the members of our school district,” Kelley said. “Tomorrow, we ask that we stand together united as a school community.”

If you want to share your school spirit Friday with Planet Princeton readers and send a message against gun violence, email your school spirit wear photos to editor@planetprinceton.com. Please remember to include a photo credit for the person who took the photo.