Online Threats To Muslim, Jewish Students Of A South Carolina High School Appear To Be Not Credible

online threats social media Death Threat racism Byrnes High School south carolina facebook United States freedom of speech rights security safety terrorism Muslims Jewish

By Beatrice Walters , Parent Herald Sep 07, 08:24 am

Everyday, minorities are discriminated in schools; everyday, Muslim and Jewish students suffer from racism. While this has long been a problem, receiving a death threat is a different story altogether. In a high school at South Carolina, the safety of Jewish and Muslim students were threatened online and caught the attention of authorities.

In a series of Facebook posts, Jewish and Muslim students of Byrnes High School were threatened to be attacked on Tuesday this week. GoUpstate.com reports that the said Facebook posts used violent language with images of a person in a gas mask, Nazi medals and a knife with the swastika symbol.

For security measures, deputies patrolled district schools in South Carolina over the holiday weekend. They were also on guard come Tuesday to ensure the safety of all students including the Muslim and Jewish schoolgoers. No incidents, however, were reported.

The Spartanburg Country Sheriff Office is still unsure as to who made the threats. Initial leads point to a 24-year-old suspect who lives in Rapid City, S.D., but after the investigation, they have located that the Facebook posts came from someone living outside the United States, as per the ABC News.

Because of this, the issue has been turned over to the FBI's terrorism task force. Even then, Lt. Kevin Bobo of Spartanburg County suspects that the threats are not credible.

Byrnes High School is one of the largest South Carolina high schools. It caters to about 2,300 students (via ABC News).

According to The Wall Street Journal, law enforcement for people who make online threats remain murky and unsettled. Recently though, there has been an increase on such arrests after murders of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, La, happened.

Do you find social media threats such as the Facebook posts described above as discriminatory or alarming? Why? Why not? Voice out your thoughts in the Comments section and follow the Parent Herald for more news and updates.