Violent online threats cause concern at several North Texas schools; some arrests made

Violent online threats pushed several North Texas school districts to amp up police presence on campuses, and cancel or postpone classes and events this week.

Though specific details on the threats haven’t been made public, most — if not all — were proven fake or unconfirmed, according to school and police officials.

Some threats were general while others targeted specific schools.

Among the districts impacted were Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, Cedar Hill ISD, Dallas ISD, DeSoto ISD, Duncanville ISD, Ennis ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Irving ISD, Royse City ISD and others.

“We are aware of social media posts with unconfirmed threats against various campuses in North Texas,” a Dallas ISD post on Facebook said. “While no threats have been confirmed, we take these claims seriously and are working with Dallas ISD Police to investigate each threat. We will continue to be vigilant.”

Dallas ISD police chief Albert Martinez said his team is devoting 70% to 80% of their energy toward dealing with reported threats because of the sheer volume.

Martinez said his officers are working to be “very visible” on campuses and he’s created a task force to tackle the issue.

District leaders encourage students to “see something, say something” and report any suspicious activity or posts through tip lines.

”Well, it’s working,” Martinez said. “We’re not really complaining because we don’t want that shut down. We just have to be surgical in how we’re looking at this.”

Sometimes teenagers are trying to get out of school or looking for a reaction through what they put on social media, Martinez said. District leaders are encouraging parents to talk to their children about responsible posting.

”Everybody is trying to do their part,” he said.

After multiple schools in its jurisdiction received threats this week, Fort Worth police confirmed there’s a growing concern in the community about the number of school threats being posted to social media and reiterated that threats against schools, whether real or a hoax, is a “serious crime” that can lead to an arrest.

“We also want to encourage and remind parents about the importance of having open and honest conversations with children about the seriousness of posting threatening messages,” the post on X said. “Every threat is taken seriously and thoroughly investigated to determine its source. We will always take the necessary steps to protect students, teachers, and school staff so that all can come to school and learn, work and play.”

Some arrests have already been made in the investigations.

An Ennis ISD student received a message on social media that the district was on a list for a potential threat. An investigation determined the message was circulated statewide and had no credibility but the person “responsible for this original action” was arrested in Edinburg, a district news release said.

Ramiro Manuel Rivera, a 37-year-old Murphy resident, was arrested by the Farmers Branch Police Department and faces a charge of making terroristic threats after a threat was directed at the Mary Immaculate Catholic School, police said.

A 16-year-old former DeSoto High School student was taken into police custody after an anonymous tip that a student was possibly armed with a gun at the school, DeSoto police said in a news release.

A 15-year-old was detained by Royse City police and faces a terroristic threat charge after he allegedly posted online that he might bring a bomb to an after-school student group meeting, according to a news release. Police said the teen told officers he didn’t intend to carry out the threat.

During a news conference addressing community concerns over the recent threats, Duncanville ISD police Chief Mitchell Lambert said a lot of the threats are being recirculated throughout the communities and “is basically copy and paste at this point.”

He said he doesn’t think there’s been a change in the amount of threats but rather authorities are more aware of it “because the heightened state of fear that the country is involved right now when it comes to school violence.”