For the past week there have been sightings of clowns with weapons that threaten schools and children. According to the New York Times, this has been going on since August in South Carolina, where people were dressing as clowns and luring kids into the woods. Truthfully, I did not know this was going on until the clowns began to appear in California, and since then there have been many more sightings of them. This started to get serious as at least one death has been connected with the hoax. Some people would even send out false statements about the clowns or send messages encouraging them to come to certain cities. I am disappointed in the people that made up false statements, because it makes the jobs of the police harder.

The clowns have begun to carry weapons out in public. Soon after, the clowns began to use social media to threaten schools and people. Schools have been threatened and clowns have been on school grounds, causing some schools to close. The clowns have specifically used Instagram and Twitter to inform the schools they are “coming for them.” A picture on Instagram circulated, stating that the clowns “We will be visiting Compton, Inglewood, and Hawthorne Schools: Compton High, Inglewood High, and Hawthorne High. GOOD LUCK ON THE 5TH OF OCTOBER” (@spikeytheklown). I initially could not tell if this was some kind of joke or if it was the real thing. I felt so worried when I saw this post, but then I thought it might have been some prank to scare everyone. Thankfully, the Hawthorne School District sent out a phone call to the parents informing them about the clowns and assuring everyone that the Police Department reported no credible threat. On October 5th, 2016 there were no recorded sightings of the clowns.

This phenomenon is alarming because even though this might have been a joke in the beginning, it is serious now. Those kids who played jokes dressing as clowns may have led to some dangerous people dressing as clowns and committing crimes. Even though this might be a hoax, I think those who are joking around should stop in order to help the police arrest those who are a real threat. The more children joke around, the harder it is for the police to fully protect the people; they are not sure whether or not the clown is there to scare or threaten. The police have been arresting people dressed in clown suits in order to protect the citizens. Some people do not agree with the police arresting everyone dressed in clown suits. However, I agree with the arrests, because the police have to do all they can to protect us. The police are doing what is right to protect the citizens and the citizens should be supportive of the police. Honestly, I am worried and scared for the schools that have been affected. My fellow classmates and I are lucky and thankful that we go to a school that is across the street from the Hawthorne Police Station. These clowns are dangerous, and we need to figure out a solution to end these threats and sightings in a safe manner.