Homer schools placed under temporary lockdown Tuesday after TikTok threat

the police station in Homer
The police station in Homer. (Hope McKenney/KBBI)

Homer area schools were under a soft lockdown Tuesday following a threat of a school shooting, according to the Homer Police Department.

Around 8 a.m. Tuesday, the Anchorage FBI told police that a 16-year-old Homer teenager posted on TikTok that he was going to shoot up a school and be the “next serial killer,” according to a statement from police. The specific school under threat was not identified.

Homer police contacted the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District and suggested a “soft” lockdown while state troopers headed to the teenager’s residence outside of city limits, according to the statement.

“A soft lockdown is a heightened awareness and locked doors, but classes remain and students can go about indoors,” said Lt. Ryan Browning in a statement.

Troopers detained the suspect and notified the district that it could ease the lockdown.

“We let them know once we were in contact with [the suspect] and didn’t feel any immediate threat to the schools, and then again when he was in custody,” Browning said.

The teenager — unidentified by police — was arrested and taken to the Kenai Peninsula Youth Facility, in Kenai.

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