BERWICK - A childhood book staple, Cat in the Hat, is now being used as part of a disturbing viral social media trend, where AI images are created of Dr. Seuss' character, and the post makes harmful threats towards people and schools.

Earlier this week, in St. Mary Parish, Berwick police arrested four juveniles for charges ranging from terrorizing to cyberbullying for participating in the trend.

"My investigators quickly learned that this trend was something that was happening nationwide, apparently something that started overseas maybe, but that worked its way to the United States," Berwick Police Chief J.P Henry said.

Chief Henry says their investigation started with calls from concerned parents and school administrators Sunday evening about a video circulating online making threats toward Berwick High School.

"My investigators were able to identify four suspects that either maybe had shared it, or actually created one of these TikTok accounts," Henry said.

This led surrounding parishes to warn both students and parents. The Assumption Parish Sheriff's Office shared a message on social media Wednesday morning.

"We decided to try to get ahead of it and warn people, warn the children about it, and not only that it is illegal for them to utilize it and send it out, but also, you know, our kids have a right to get an education undisturbed, and we have an obligation to make sure that happens," Assumption Parish Sheriffs Office Commander of Criminal Administration and Public Information Officer Lonny Cavalier said.

The sheriff's office says they are prepared to aggressively respond to this trend if it comes their way.

"As you know, St. Mary Parish is right next door to us, we border St. Mary, we border Lafourche, Ascension, all of these parishes, and we would expect that it makes its way here that's why we wanted to get ahead of it and be aggressive about it and try to track it down, and you know if you're willing to put it out, we're willing to go after you," Cavalier said.

The Iberville Parish Sheriff's Office is also sending a warning out to students. Law enforcement officials say if you are caught participating in this trend and making harmful threats towards a school, you can face charges ranging from criminal mischief to terrorism.