Watch CBS News

Investigators: 'Social Media Hysteria' Surrounds Clown Threats

By Rick Sallinger

LAKEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4)- Parents around the state are being told to calm down over threatening email posts claiming that people dressed as clowns are coming to hurt their children. So far, all the threats have been described as hoaxes.

Lakewood police converged on Creighton Middle School on Friday after the killer clown threat spread there.

Diana Wilson a spokesperson for the Jefferson County Public Schools told CBS4, "As soon as we get any kind of threat, we immediately try to find out what this threat is about and bring in law enforcement so they can do some research."

jeffco-clown-threats-1
Creighton Middle School in Lakewood (credit: CBS)

Letters have gone out to parents of students in Jeffco Schools informing the, "At this point our investigations have led us to believe this may be a social media hysteria."

"I believe it's stupid, someone trying to go around and scare kids," a boy told CBS4's Rick Sallinger.

A high school student said, "This seems like a bunch of empty threats... have they done anything? No."

jeffco-clown-threats
(credit: CBS)

In Adams County School District 12, parents also received a letter reading, "Posts that threaten safety are not a harmless joke and are taken seriously."

There are clown threat watches on Facebook spanning the nation.

Wilson said the threats take many forms, "It has ranged from people who say they saw clowns on school property to people who said they heard that clowns are going to come and shoot up the school, they just saw an internet post."

Police say they will continue to investigate each threat as if it is real.

CBS4's Rick Sallinger is a Peabody award winning reporter who has been with the station more than two decades doing hard news and investigative reporting. Follow him on Twitter @ricksallinger.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.