Brownsville Independent School District superintendent Esperanza Zendejas delivers comments Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016, during a media conference in Brownsville, Texas. Zendejas addressed recent threat-like hoaxes made against local schools, stating that one student has been arrested and an investigation is to proceed to determine if others were involved. (Jason Hoekema/The Brownsville Herald via AP)
AURORA | The Cherry Creek School District isn’t clowning around with the recent barrage of bizarre news reports regarding sinister clowns terrorizing people across the country.
In an email sent to parents Thursday, district officials wrote that there have been “vague threats toward Cherry Creek School District buildings” on both Facebook and Instagram, and those threats have been “tied to media coverage and internet rumors of ‘creepy clowns’ in Colorado and other states.”
However, the district wrote that officials have not found any credible threats to any Cherry Creek schools.
“We take all threats seriously and we’ve made a point to follow every report and rumor,” the email read. “We’re working closely with our law enforcement partners across the district to ensure the safety and security of all of our students, teachers, staff and administrators.”
There have been no confirmed clown sightings within CCSD boundaries, according to district spokeswoman Tustin Amole.
The emailed message went on to discourage the dissemination of unfounded rumors.
“Fact-based reporting will help us ensure the security of our community,” the email said.
School districts across the country have taken precautions against the perplexing phenomenon in recent weeks, including local education officials in Jefferson County, Colorado Springs and Greeley.
Reports of people dressed as clowns appearing in unusual places first began to emerge in late August following a series of sightings in South Carolina, according to a report filed by The New York Times late last month. Since those initial reports, at least a dozen people in nearly as many states have been arrested in connection with the clown mystery, according to the newspaper.