2 students accused of making social media threats against KIPP NYC College Prep High School

The school says it is working with the NYPD to investigate the threats.

Heather Fordham

Nov 21, 2024, 3:05 AM

Updated 14 days ago

Share:

Police have identified two students who are responsible for making terroristic threats to KIPP NYC College Prep in Mott Haven.
A string of posts were made on social media that threatened to shoot up the high school on Wednesday morning. The contents of the post included a photo of a gun with text over top that said the act would be carried out on Nov. 20 at 9 a.m.
"The NYPD has identified two students who were the source of the original posts. While it is unfortunate that both sources are KIPP students, we are relieved to have the identity of the individuals who are responsible and can move forward with consequences," KIPP NYC wrote in a letter to parents.
Parents contacted News 12 after their students saw the posts on a now-deleted Instagram account titled "im.shooting.kipp.up"
Tawana Younger says she was hesitant to send her son to school on Wednesday. She says she waited till after 9 .m to make sure the campus was safe and secure before she dropped him off.
"What's the next step, what do we do moving forward, even if this is just a prank or a hoax, someone being funny or not being funny, what are we going to do to prevent this from happening again and scaring our children," said Younger.
The school had an increased security and police presence during arrival and dismissal on Wednesday afternoon.
"We want to assure you that there is no danger to ur school community," KIPP NYC wrote in the letter to parents.
The threats came a day after a separate threat was made through Snapchat to someone at KIPP Middle School on East 156th Street. It's unclear if the same students were responsible for that post, or if they are related.
KIPP NYC Response:
“We were notified earlier this week of threats made on social media. We are working closely with local and federal law enforcement agencies in their active investigation of the situation, which has found the threats were not credible. As the safety of our community is paramount, we take all threats seriously and have implemented several steps to ensure the safety of our entire community, including additional security enhancements and increased security staff onsite. KIPP NYC will take the appropriate disciplinary measures, and pending an investigation, appropriate legal measures will be taken against those involved.”