Gilroy Superintendent Thanks Community For Response To Threats

GILROY, CA — Gilroy Unified School District Superintendent Deborah Flores asked parents to speak with their kids about the “inappropriate and unkind” TikTok challenge around the country encouraging students to threaten violence at their schools on Friday.

The resulting social media threats led to classes being canceled at Gilroy High School on Friday after a threat referring to “GHS” surfaced, though the Gilroy Police Department later determined the threat to be based out of Los Angeles.

“It’s been a hard week at the high school level with social media threats interfering with our normal operations,” Flores wrote in a letter Friday. “Please join us in discussing with your students how inappropriate and unkind this, and other challenges, are, and emphasize the disruption and fear that they cause. Continue to encourage them to speak up when they see something or hear something that could lead to harm of people or property.”

The campus closure happened during finals week and the end of the first semester. Students return to campus Jan. 5.

Related: Gilroy High School Closed Friday After Social Media Threats

In a Thursday letter, Flores referenced the deadly high school shooting in Michigan on Nov. 30 and the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting in 2019.

“At the top of my mind is the trauma that comes up for our staff and students who were affected by the Garlic Festival each time a shooting happens in other parts of our country,” Flores said.

She also thanked the community for alerting school officials to the social media posts Wednesday night.

“It is always the right thing to do to share information like this with our staff, and we are grateful to the community-at-large for showing concern for the GHS community,” Flores wrote. “It is never an inconvenience for our staff when parents bring attention to potential threats or danger.”