Public security authorities in Baja California Sur declared on April 23 that messages threatening school shootings across the state are not real. The threats, which circulated on social media and messaging apps, are part of a viral TikTok challenge designed to cause panic, officials said.
The Secretaría de Seguridad Pública del Estado (SSPE), the state public security agency, said its investigation confirmed the warnings do not represent actual planned violence. Authorities in other Mexican states reached the same conclusion after examining similar threats on their own campuses.
A Viral Trend, Not a Credible Threat
According to the SSPE, the so-called challenge encourages students to send alarming messages about shootings at schools. The goal is to provoke closures, trigger emergency responses, and watch the resulting chaos. Cybersecurity specialists identified the pattern as a digital trend spreading primarily through TikTok.
The phenomenon is not unique to Mexico. In December 2021, a nearly identical TikTok challenge swept across the United States. Schools in California, Texas, New York, and other states received threats that the FBI and TikTok itself later confirmed were baseless. TikTok said at the time it found no content on its platform promoting actual violence.
Baja California Also Affected
The threat messages have not been limited to Baja California Sur. In neighboring Baja California, at least 18 school campuses reported receiving similar warnings, according to Canal 66. Authorities there also linked the incidents to the same viral trend rather than any credible security risk.
BCS officials urged parents not to forward the threatening messages. Sharing them, even with good intentions, amplifies the panic the challenge is designed to create. Parents were also asked to speak with their children about the legal consequences of filing false reports or spreading hoax threats.
What Parents Should Do
The state government asked residents to verify any security alerts through official channels before reacting. Anyone who receives a suspicious message or observes unusual activity near a school should call 9-1-1 directly rather than posting on social media.
Schools in La Paz, Los Cabos, and other BCS communities remain open. Authorities said increased security patrols near campuses are in place as a precaution, even though the threats are considered non-credible.
This story was first reported by BCS Noticias and El Heraldo de México.