13-year-old arrested in threat against Millswood Middle School in Lodi

Dec. 18—An apparent social media challenge found its way to Lodi this week, hours after the Lodi Unified School District advised its community of the potential dangers affiliated with social media trends.

The Lodi Police Department reported late Thursday that officers received a report of a threat made to Millswood Middle School through the Instagram social media platform. At the time, the department said officers were investigating the incident, but it did not appear to be a credible threat.

On Friday evening, LUSD Superintendent Cathy Nichols-Washer sent an update to parents that she had been informed by police that a 13-year-old had been arrested in connection to the threat.

Police said the threat appeared to be part of a nationwide TikTok trend to report a false school shooting threat on Dec. 11.

"We are working with the Lodi Unified School District to ensure the safety of all students and staff at all of our school campuses," police said. "We encourage parents/guardians speak with their children about using social media platforms responsibly, as these potentially dangerous social media challenges are becoming more common."

The threat, which various media outlets, school districts, law enforcement agencies and even TikTok have described as "vague," featured text singling out Dec. 17 and warns of school shooting and other violence on that day.

It is unclear how and why the threat originated, according to reports.

Lodi resident Justin Widgren commented on the department's Thursday post, questioning how police could not find the threat credible.

He said Millswood students were being sent a video from a student displaying a gun stating they were going to "shoot it up tomorrow watch out" in reference to Millswood's principal, as well as "all them teachers."

Other parents commenting on the department's post agreed, many of whom said they would not send their children to school Friday.

"What is going to be done to ensure the safety of the children," Roxana Delgado asked. "Are they going to search every student that goes into school? I can't see any parent being expected to send their kids to school when it's not being thought as 'credible."

The threat caused school districts across the country to either increase security or close school for the day, according to reports.

Other school districts in the region have been communicating with their communities about the perceived threats, including Elk Grove, Modesto City Schools, Sacramento City Unified and Stockton Unified, according to KCRA.

Both the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office and the Galt Police Department posted social media notices stating no credible threats had been made to any schools in their jurisdictions.

TikTok issued a statement on Twitter late Thursday stating "We handle even rumored threats with utmost seriousness, which is why we're working with law enforcement to look into warning about potential violence at schools even though we have not found evidence of such threats originating or spreading via TikTok."

Lodi Police Department's post comes three days after a similar threat was made to Calaveras High School in San Andreas.

According to the Calaveras County Sheriff's Office, its dispatch center received a report of a possible threat at the school on Dec. 13.

The caller told dispatch operators they saw a social media post making a threat at the school.

Deputies arrived on campus shortly thereafter and placed the school on lockdown. They then proceeded to search the entire campus, but found no weapons, the Sheriff's Office said.

The lockdown was lifted just after noon that day.

An investigation is ongoing, the Sheriff's Office said.