A New Jersey school district was forced into lockdown after being “flooded with threats of violence” when an employee was mistakenly identified as the person behind an inflammatory social media post about Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Students and staff across 11 schools in Linden were “immediately” ordered to shelter in place on Thursday over the controversial clip, the Linden Police Department said in a statement.
Police did not say exactly what the clip was, but stresseds that the person behind it “is not, nor has ever been, an employee of Linden Public Schools.”
As well as the lockdown, the school district will see a beefed-up law enforcement presence in the coming days, NJ.com reported.
Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, was shot dead while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
The gunman remained at large as of Friday morning.
Linden Mayor Derek Armstead called for the harassment against the employee and the school district to stop.
“Tragically, as a result of this misinformation, one of our district employees has become the target of harassment and threats. This individual is completely innocent and has absolutely no connection to the video,” he said in a social media post.
“I am deeply concerned for her safety, as well as the safety of our students, especially since threats have now been made against our school community,” he added.
Here’s the latest on the Charlie Kirk shooting in Utah
The threats made against the school district and the employee are under investigation, according to Linden police.
“It is understandable for people to have strong emotions following yesterday’s horrific events, and we join those who have condemned this killing in the strongest of terms,” the department said.
“Violence is never the answer, and threats of violence like this have no place in our society, and certainly not in our schools.”
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