Clown threats in Monterey County

Creepy clown sightings and threats have been sweeping the country, and now it’s happening on the Central Coast.

On Thursday, “Tappy the Clown” named two schools on the peninsula and threatened students on Instagram.

When the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District became aware the post, they immediately notified police and called thousands of parents.

The post has since been removed and police say they have good leads on the suspect.

Even though it turned out to be a hoax, many parents and students are still on edge.

Augustin Resendiz is an 8th grader at Walter Colton Middle School, one of the two schools named in the post.

“A friend today , he left after third period. He said [it’s] because of a clown, and his mom was scared of the clown,” Resendiz said.

Resendiz and his younger brother didn’t leave school, but many parents were still worried about their children.

“Because they are threatening to endanger the life of the kids for some unknown reason, and I feel like they are not safe,” said Robin Gensel, whose daughter goes to Monterey High School.

And now parents have to talk to their children about clowns.

“I’m telling my kids so that they can be aware, make sure that they are watching when they are around the school,” Gensel said.

Monterey County is one of the latest places dealing with violent clown threats.

Last week, police arrested a teenager in Greenfield, California, who threatened to shoot up schools under a clown alias on Facebook.

“We have no control over anybody. Anybody can do this any time. I’d like to stop them. I think a lot of parents feel that way,” Gensel said.

The school district is doing its best to prepare.

“Unfortunately, in this day and age, you can’t control what’s posted on social media. The best we can do is to react quickly, ensure the safety of our students and communicate proactively with our parents,” said district Superintendent PK Diffenbaugh.

While it was an empty threat, Resendiz says it isn’t funny.

“A prank like that is not a joke. It’s serious because some kids are getting out of school because of that and their parents are getting worried,” Resendiz said.

Similar posts are popping up, warning Salinas’ schools to get ready.

KION reached out to the police department to find out if they are investigating and have yet to hear back.