CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — School districts across the the state, including here in the Coastal Bend, are seeing an increase in threat hoaxes.
Sinton and Beeville Independent School Districts have let the community know that they have seen threats as well.
Sinton Police Department Lt. Daniel Alcala said it's something he's noticed since the school year started.
"For this school year, I would say the last few weeks we've seen an uptick in it, and it's not just in our community as well, I've spoken with surrounding agencies that our outside of San Patricio County that are kind of seeing it as well," he said.
Alcala said he and his team quickly accessed the situation, and while he could not reveal any names, was able to pinpoint the alleged threat's location.
"It was actually originating from a nearby school district, so out of precaution, we still kept an officer presence at the Sinton ISD campuses today," he said.
Corpus Christi Independent School District Police Chief Kirby Warnke said that while his district has not experienced direct threats against a CCISD campus, he has seen vague allegations.
Which in the age of social media, can quickly spread around.
"Gone viral, we heard from someone who heard from someone, and we're going to investigate them," he said.
Warnke said that regardless of if a threat is vague or direct, those who are caught, will know the full extent of the law.
"It's a serious offense, it could lead to arrest, fines and other types of criminal penalties, not to mention school discipline," he said.