Empty creepy clown threats make their way to Merced

A national social media hoax involving people in creepy clown costumes made its way to Merced this week, prompting schools to notify parents.

Merced police are investigating social media posts Monday that had images of people dressed as clowns alongside threats mentioning Merced High School and El Capitan High.

“The threats were very general in what was going to happen, but did mention both high schools,” Capt. Chris Goodwin said in a news release. “Over the past few weeks there has been a nationwide social media hoax where subjects dressed as clowns are making threats to commit violent crimes.”

Police have stopped short of describing the exact nature of the threats in Merced, saying the threats were not credible and even “too vague” to define as a crime, but said they would continue looking into the matter.

The Merced Police Department’s high-tech investigations unit also looked into the social media accounts and found they did not originate in California.

Merced City School District sent an automatic phone message Monday to parents alerting them of the threats. School officials said the threats did not significantly affect attendance Tuesday.

School resource officers at each of the high schools and middle schools were contacted and began looking into the threats. Merced City School District said in its phone message that school administrators also will remain vigilant.

“It’s important for parents to monitor their child’s social media activity to stay in touch with what’s going on in their life,” Lt. Don King said.

Police encourage parents to report any suspicious social media activity that includes credible threats. Police consider multiple factors when deeming a threat credible, such as if there is an intended victim, if the person could carry out the threat or if the person is capable of committing a crime, King said.

Last week, Fresno police arrested two teen girls on suspicion of making empty threats to schools on social media. One high school student made the threat via an account depicting a clown and said it was a joke, pointing out that it’s Halloween time. She is now facing felony charges of making terrorist threats, The Fresno Bee reported.

This story was originally published October 4, 2016 at 10:26 AM with the headline "Empty creepy clown threats make their way to Merced."