Oklahoma middle school cancels classes after Snapchat threat, 2 weeks after shooting incident near area high school

A threat made on Snapchat shuttered an Oklahoma middle school this week and triggered a local police investigation, which also used social media to alert the community and track progress on its findings.

“We have identified and made contact with the subject who made the threat,” the Sapulpa Police Department wrote in an Oct. 6 update to its original Facebook post, published at 9:45 p.m. Oct. 5. “We have determined it is NOT a credible threat and want to thank Snapchat and FBI for their assistance with this incident.” 

Sapulpa Middle School had canceled classes for Oct. 6 “out of an abundance of caution” cited in an email sent to parents, the Sapulpa Times reported. 

“This incident comes less than two weeks after a shooting outside the high school led to increased security and concern for student safety,” the news outlet explained in a follow-up article. 

The Sapulpa Public Schools district enrolls nearly 3,800 students across the city, which is in the northeastern part of the state. 

Analysts: ‘Violence is the norm’ on social media channels 

Social media has drawn increasing scrutiny over the years for its contributions toward teen gun violence, with Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram receiving particular attention. 

“The algorithm of platforms like Instagram can feed vulnerable youth a fake reality in which violence is the norm,” wrote Chalkbeat and Axios in a recent report on Indianapolis youth. 

“It can also amplify pre-existing drama between students before an audience of their peers both during and outside of school hours. And it can make communication between teenagers — whether to meet up to trade a gun or buy marijuana — instantaneous and discreet.” 

These algorithms emphasize aggressive, controversial content to hold users’ attention, said Paul Boxer, professor of psychology at Rutgers. 

“It’s making them believe the world is a violent place and suspect guns are a good way to solve problems,” he argued. 

Meanwhile, educational institutions nationwide are reconsidering their security measures – including school resource officers (SROs), ballistic shields and weapon detection systems. 

“Safety and security has certainly become more at the forefront of our thinking as school leaders than it was when I started 20-plus years ago,” said Dr. Rob Brown, head of school at the K-12 private Christian school First Presbyterian Academy (FPA) in South Carolina. “We didn’t have to think about ballistic material on windows or doors.”