Many parent’s worst nightmare is a tragic event, such as a school shooting, happening at their child’s school. Because of this fear and the rise of school shootings, terroristic threats amongst school children has gained a lot of local, state, national and even world-wide attention. How do you know if people mean what they say or if they are just blowing off steam or joking around? The scary truth is that we, as every-day citizens and parents, cannot know. What is a terroristic (or hoax) threat? Why are students making these kinds of threats, and what do we do when we, or our students, overhear someone making a threat of any kind? Who is making these threats? Anyone. In schools, we see students primarily make these kinds of threats, although we have also seen instances where parents and other adults make these threats as well. What exactly is a terroristic or hoax threat? According to Section 22.07 of the Texas Penal Code: Any type of threat of violence against a person or institution with intent to: Cause a reaction by emergency services, place a person in fear of serious bodily injury, prevent or interrupt the use of a building, facility […]
Terroristic Threats and Hoax Threats in our Schools