In today’s day and age, with more than 119 school shootings a year in the U.S. Hearing or reading about a threat of violence made to your school or a school nearby, is not only anxiety inducing but also tiring. 

Those threats are more commonly made on social media. Apps such as Snapchat and Instagram are at the epicenter of it. On August 28, 2022, a female juvenile was accused of making a series of threats to blow up Walkersville High school along with a teacher’s house. The threats were found to not be credible, implying that she might’ve made them out of spite or as a joke. While it is a relief to know this, not only for the Walkersville community but also for the state of Maryland, it is very important for these kinds of actions to be reported, preferably as soon as possible.

 Hearing or seeing anything and reporting it might save many lives. Another juvenile from Oakdale High had also made threats to blow up his school. Earlier in August, the juvenile used the iPhone feature called airdrop to announce his future actions. The threat was found to not be credible. Sgt Kevin Britt had this to say on the matter, “The Frederick County sheriff’s office will not tolerate these threats of mass violence on or directed at our schools and children. We will continue to treat every threat seriously and criminally charge those responsible when appropriate.”