Viral video causes outrage

Published 2:54 pm Tuesday, January 28, 2020

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Central High School (CHS) was not under increased security Tuesday after a viral video mockingly depicting Sunday’s helicopter crash that killed retired NBA superstar Kobe Bryant led to online outrage.

The TikTok video included three young teens. One of the teens is allegedly a CHS student.

Dr. Sharon Stanislas, principal of CHS, said there had been no threats against the school.

The video, which features three teens depicting the helicopter pilot, Bryant and Bryant’s daughter Gianna, caused outrage online. Online comments demanded the video be removed and the account permanently deleted. The video begins to shake as the three teens portray the helicopter crashing while smiling broadly before the video ends. The video had received more than 1.6 million views on Twitter as of mid-day Tuesday, Jan. 28.

One commenter went as far as threatening the account owner.

The existence of the video quickly received national attention in the wake of the worldwide mourning of the death of Bryant, Gianna and seven others in the crash that occurred on a wooded hillside near Los Angeles. The video was featured in an article on Foxnews.com and Dailydot.com.