Teen charged after laptop fire at New Jersey high school believed to be part of TikTok challenge

BELLEVILLE, New Jersey -- A 15-year-old student is facing charges after a laptop caught fire outside a classroom in what police suspect was part of a social media challenge trending on TikTok.

The fire was reported at Belleville High School around 9 a.m. Thursday and prompted an evacuation. Responding officers and firefighters discovered a charred Chromebook computer positioned outside the building.

Police say a staff member found the computer emitting smoke and removed it from a classroom while students and staff were evacuated.

Authorities say they believe the 15-year-old intentionally put the lead from a mechanical pencil into one of the laptop ports as part of the social media challenge. The teen has been charged with arson and criminal mischief.

The new trend on TikTok involves sticking metal objects into ports of Chromebooks, causing them to start smoking.

"You see in a lot of the videos when the laptops start to smoke and then once the battery starts to fail, you'll see kind of like turbulence, smoke pushing out and like a rapid pace," said Belleville Fire Department Capt. Chase Hamilton. "And that puts the battery in what's called thermal runaway. At that point, the batteries are just going to continue to overheat to the point that it could explode."

SEE MORE: Teens involved in alleged assault of 2 men for TikTok 'prank' charged

In one incident, deputies said one of them used a gun and physically assaulted a victim to rob him of his iPhone 14. When questioned by ABC13, he said, "It was a prank. I had no problem with the man."

Fire officials say even if it appear the laptop has stopped smoking, there is still a potential for danger.

"What happens with lithium batteries? They'll reignite," said Bellville Fire Department Chief John Olivieri. "Most people don't know that. So they'll bring it back into the house or we'll put it away, think it's OK, and then hours later we'll have a problem."

The dangerous craze has prompted police and fire departments throughout the Tri-State area to share warnings, not only of the potential dangers, but the potential consequences too.

"We don't want to put students at risk, we don't want to put our first responders at risk responding to a scene that they really shouldn't have to," said Belleville Police Dept. Chief Mark Minichini. "So the message is, parents, please watch your kids. They're serious implications for doing something wrong like this."

The police chief added he doesn't believe this was done in a malicious manner, but says teens aren't understanding the ramifications.

TikTok has taken action and has blocked the search option for Chromebook fires and other similar searches.

SEE ALSO: Deputies warn against TikTok 'door-knocking challenge' after cases hit Chambers County