Two Barrington High School students who are part of the LGBTQ+ community were allegedly targeted in a pellet-gun shooting on campus this week, The Chicago Tribune reported.
Officials said the incident is likely related to the latest TikTok challenge breaking out across the country. For example, according to NBC Boston, police in Concord, Massachusetts, are investigating two separate March 18 incidents in which people were shot with pellet guns.
Barrington resident Kristin Stedman said her son, Matt Petersen, and his boyfriend were walking to school when a student pointed a toy rifle out the window of a car, spraying the two teens with pellets in a parking lot adjacent to the high school’s entrance.
In a letter to parents sent March 17, Barrington Principal Steve McWilliams said the March 16 incident involved “some students on campus participating in what is being referred to as the Orbeez TikTok Challenge. This is where teens shoot gel beads at each other with toy guns.” He added that “disciplinary consequences will be in place for the students involved.”