At least six schools receive bomb threats in suspected Valentine’s Day social media prank

Phony bomb threats were made against four Kentucky schools Wednesday and Thursday in what cops believe was a sick Valentine’s Day-themed social media prank linked to at least two other southern states.

The threats first rolled in at a suicide hotline around 2 p.m. Wednesday, according to WLWT5. The calls claimed there was an explosive in Boone County High School, leading to a lockdown as bomb units were dispatched to search the building.

It was later determined there was no threat at the school, but the following day another call came in to a suicide hotline around 8 a.m.

That threat was made against the Connor High School, but police said the nature of the call pointed “toward the suspect not having intimate knowledge” of the school.

A third threat came in at a suicide hotline against the St. Henry High School at 2 p.m. Thursday, and also a fourth earlier in the day against the Beechwood Independent School District.

Lockdowns and searches in each of those schools found nothing, but Boone County Police told The Post they quickly suspected the calls to be an interconnected prank.

Each call made to the hotlines appeared to be voiced by pre-recorded or artificially generated voice, officials said.

Investigators also found social media posts showing recordings of similar threats with titles and hashtags like “I don’t want to buy you flowers, that’s too basic, I’ll call in a bomb threat instead,” suggesting the calls were part of a twisted Valentine’s Day prank.

It became apparent the pranks were part of a wider social media trend when police from Harrisburg, Virginia, and Shelby, North Carolina, saw the reports out of Kentucky and called Boone County to report threats against schools following almost identical modus operandi in their cities in recent days.

Harrisburg saw one such bomb threat on Thursday, according to WHSV 3, while Shelby saw one last week, Queen City News reported.

Boone County Sheriff’s Office noted that despite their suspicion of a false threat, they treat every tip they receive as if it were the real deal until they can ensure the safety of everybody involved.

It was not the first time Kentucky has dealt with such dangerous social media pranks intended for the likes of TikTok in their schools.

Back in August, four Kentucky teens were arrested in Oldham County and charged with terrorism and harassment after they allegedly filmed themselves telling their teachers they had bombs or guns in their bags.