Two students charged after viral challenge damages multiple school electrical outlets

HANSON — Superintendent Jeffrey Szymaniak and Hanson Police Chief Michael Miksch report that two Whitman-Hanson Regional High School students will be facing criminal charges after they replicated a viral video trend that resulted in several electrical outlets being scorched inside the school last week.

Two 15 and 16-year-old students were charged with Attempt to Burn a Public Building and Malicious Destruction of Property.

The students will be issued summonses to appear in juvenile court at a later date and will be subject to the school district’s student code of conduct policies. Because the students are juveniles their identities will not be released.

On Thursday, Jan. 23, the Hanson Police Department was called to Whitman-Hanson Regional High School, 600 Franklin St., for a report of two students who had caused damage to multiple electrical outlets.

Last week, school officials noticed that some electrical outlets were damaged and appeared to have short-circuited. It was later determined that the damaged outlets were the result of a viral video trend on the popular video app Tik Tok. In total, there were eight electrical outlets that had been damaged throughout the school.

School officials identified two students who did damage to some, if not all, of the outlets. Hanson Police were called to investigate the situation on Thursday, Jan. 23 and determined that the students would be charged.

No injuries were reported in the incidents.