TAS suspends classes after threat of campus shooting

• Staff writer, with CNA

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Police have stepped up patrols around Taipei American School (TAS) in Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) after a threat was made on Sunday that there would be a shooting on campus.

Classes at the school were suspended yesterday in response to the threat, and an additional 30 police officers have been deployed there to beef up security, Shilin Precinct deputy chief Chiang Hsun-kuei (江勛貴) told a news conference yesterday.

Chiang said that law enforcement officials are looking into the source of the gun threat after the school reported the incident once it learned of the threat posted on Snapchat Discord, a social media platform.

A police officer stands in front of the closed gate of Taipei American School in Taipei’s Shilin District yesterday.

Photo: CNA

The account through which the threat was made was found to belong to a TAS student, who said during questioning that his account had been hacked, an initial investigation report said.

The account was also found to have been signed in to use different Internet protocol addresses from abroad, including the US, Egypt and India, police said.

Any attempt to intentionally or recklessly send or deliver any document, whether via mail or social media, and threatening to kill or inflict bodily harm on any person constitutes a crime, police said.

The precinct said it has asked the Shilin Prosecutors’ Office to assist with the investigation.