TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The person believed to be responsible for local schools adding extra security after a social media threat has been located by authorities.
The profile used a clown image for its main picture and messaged students from at least three Cherokee County schools suggesting the campuses would be “shot up,” reports the Tahlequah Daily Press.
According to the Tahlequah Daily Press, the students said they did not know the sender.
Woodall schools was the first to report that a student was threatened, prompting a precautionary lockdown, said Undersheriff Jason Chennault.
“Right now, what we’re trying to figure out is where the threats originated from and who owns the accounts, Chennault told the Tahlequah Daily Press. “It seems to us like a hoax, but we’re trying to figure out where it came from so we can determine if it’s local or not. We don’t take it as a hoax; we have to investigate it.”
On Thursday afternoon, Tahlequah Public Schools Superintendent Lisa Presley contacted parents saying there were clown threats made in the area.
Cherokee County officials were able to locate the home of the person using the social media account, Instagram, to send the alleged threats.
In a statement, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office say they visited the home linked to the account.
They spoke with the homeowner’s juvenile sister, who is a seventh grade student at one of the schools, who allegedly admitted to sending the threats via Instragram.
Cherokee Co. officials went on to say that the girl “had no intention of causing physical harm to anybody and stated she had no idea the prank would go as far as it did.”
