LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A new TikTok challenge is already getting some kids in trouble in Oldham County.

The district sent a message to parents about the latest viral videos.

The challenge encourages students to video themselves telling a teacher they have a bomb or a gun in their backpack.

"As previously communicated in a letter to families regarding terroristic threatening, students who participate in this type of behavior face serious consequences," the message stated. "In addition to school-level discipline, students are prosecuted to the greatest extent of the law for making a threat to a public school."

The Oldham County school district has already experienced four of these incidents. They've tekn place at Oldham County High School and South Oldham High School.

District officials ask parents to talk to their children about the consequences that come with making a threat. Parents are also encouraged to monitor their children's social media accounts and notify authorities if they witness anyone threatening violence.

"Whether written or spoken, all threats are taken seriously and students need to know the repercussions of these actions, both short and long term," the message continued. "Even if they are not credible threats, they can cause a great deal of stress or anxiety for our students, families and staff."

For some students at both Oldham County and South Oldham High School, the return to class has been frightening because of the threats. 

Eric Davis, the director of student services for Oldham County Schools, calls it a "huge disruption."

"This has been a difficult start, I think mainly due to this social media rage," he said. 

He said some of the perpetrators think it's funny -- until they face criminal charges. In each of the incidents, teenagers have been charged with terroristic threatening.

"This is what will happen," David said. "It's not an 'if' or a 'maybe,' but will happen if you make these types of threats, even if it's a joke."

Dr. Karen Freberg, a professor of strategic communications at UofL, said she's seen trends like this circulate before.

"It's kind of the new digital warfare -- in many ways -- that we're kind of seeing being played out in various circles," she said.

She said it's difficult for teens to avoid exposure to these trends, but informed parents can make a difference by tapping in to their kids' social medias.

"Parents need to be a partner with their kids to educate, to learn and to have these open discussions about the risks and dangerous sides of these kinds of trends," she said.

To date, no one has been hurt from this disruptive prank in Oldham County, but Davis warned that this is no laughing matter.

"We are going to take every single threat seriously because our students deserve to go to a school that's safe," he said.

Oldham County Schools said that students have been suspended, and in similar cases, the student must complete a mental health screening before returning to school.

All of the TikTok videos have been removed at the district's request.

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