By William Thornton
Alabama Media Group
RAINBOW CITY, Ala. — A Gadsden City High School 9th grader is being questioned in connection with a social media post hinting at a visit by a “clown” at an Etowah County school.
Rainbow City Police Chief Jonathon Horton said officers are questioning a student in connection with the incident, which lead to an increased police presence at two Etowah County schools this morning.
By the afternoon, Etowah County authorities were also dealing with a threat to two schools in the Hokes Bluff area. And in Calhoun County, authorities arrested a 16-year-old juvenile from Pleasant Valley on charges of making a terroristic threat.
Etowah County Schools Superintendent Alan Cosby said officers with Rainbow City police were on campus this morning at Rainbow Middle School and John Jones Elementary. The officers were there following a social media post which hinted at a visit to Rainbow Middle by a clown.
Taking the post as a starting point, Horton said officers questioned the person who shared it, and eventually traced it to the student.
“He invented the hoax and originally said he was dared to do it,” Horton said. “Then he told us he just did it on his own because he’d seen (where) other people had done it.”
Horton said police, juvenile probation and the Gadsden City School system are working together to determine how to move forward with the case.
The incident comes a week after “creepy clown” sightings and threats impacted other Alabama school systems.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday the arrests of a 22-year-old woman and two juveniles in connection with the “Flomo Klown” affair.
On Thursday, cryptic “Flomo Klown” postings on Facebook led to school campus lockdowns in Escambia County northeast of Mobile. On Friday, further social media buzz led to a so-called “soft” lockdown of Fairhope High.
Cosby said the post was not really “an overt threat” and that the schools were not on lockdown. Classes are continuing.
“I’m not aware of any mass absenteeism this morning,” Cosby said.
The post was a screenshot shared on Facebook between an unidentified person and someone identified as Jay Lit.
“Come to Gadsden bud” is the first text from an unidentified sender.
“I’m coming tomorrow,” is the reply, with a clown icon.
“Like where you gonna be at” the other texter questions.
“By Rainbow Middle”
Officers were also stationed at John Jones Elementary because of its proximity to Rainbow Middle.
Police became aware of the post last night and were able to have officers in place for school this morning.
This afternoon, Sheriff’s Office Spokeswoman Natalie Barton said authorities received a 911 call “saying clowns are attacking Hokes Bluff school.” Barton said the call appeared to be a third party call originating from Georgia.
“There’s nothing to it,” she said.
Calhoun County Chief Deputy Matthew Wade said extra deputies were stationed at Saks Middle School this morning. Investigators became aware of “threats” made through social media posts.
“Some posts have been deleted, some have been taken down,” he said.
The Pleasant Valley youth arrested had threatened to “shoot up” the middle school, Wade said.
“It’s really disturbing in today’s world that people are doing this to scare others,” he said. “We are going to find the people who did this. There are consequences when you make threats.”