Police in Prince George’s County, Maryland, say they’re investigating threats made over social media extorting middle schoolers who may have been targeted.
A Prince George’s police spokesperson told WTOP that four students received messages on Instagram and TikTok this week telling them that they would be harmed if they failed to pay a thousand dollars each.
The students ignored the messages at first, but police said they were later sent photos of their homes that the suspect took from Google Maps.
After receiving the photos, the students told the school and their parents who then notified police about the threats.
Police said the middle school students are from Spanish-speaking families and were possibly targeted because of that shared identity.
While the threats were made to students at only one school, police said it could happen again in other parts of the area.
Police ask parents to keep a closer eye on their kids’ social media activity.