Surge in hoax threats against North Texas schools prompts districts to make changes

NORTH TEXAS — A number of North Texas school districts called for added police patrols near campuses on Wednesday after a surge of social media posts threatening violence.

Online threats of school violence spread from Waxahachie to Kemp. Those threats were not deemed credible, but area football games are being rescheduled.

Dallas Independent School District Police Chief Albert Martinez has a long list of social media postings threatening violence for schools.

“What we’re seeing … a picture of a gun,” said Martinez. “And saying they’re saying they’re going to shoot up the school.”

Wednesday, at every Dallas high school, students saw an added police presence on or near campuses.

In Fort Worth, the district’s Wedgwood Middle School also had assigned officers.

In Dallas, the football rivalry match between Lincoln and Madison was scheduled for Thursday; however, DISD rescheduled it for Saturday morning. The district pointed to not only online threats of violence but the deadly violence from last Friday when a 17 year old was shot and killed after a game at Kincaid Stadium.

“Some of these threats, if we go back to Friday at the murder, the shooting that we had at the Lowe’s truck stop next to our Kincaid Stadium, it has spurred from that,” Martinez said.

Dallas’ Kimball against Midlothian game is also being moved to Midlothian.   

Martinez and the district emphasized that the actions taken Wednesday are not based on credible threats, but that the added police presence and rescheduling or moving football games are actions deemed necessary for now.