SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. – There have been several reports of clowns allegedly trying to lure kids to them in other states, and now there are concerns of creepy activity online in West Michigan.
Police in South Haven say there are no actual sightings, but there have been threats made to students on Facebook.
And in light of what’s happening nationwide, police say they’re taking this very seriously. “So far we have had not actual reports of any sightings of people dressed in clown outfits trying to scare or intimidate people,” said Natalie Thompson, acting chief of the South Haven Police Department.
But some students at South Haven High School got a strange friend request on Facebook from a profile called Clown Nation. Police say one of them accepted the request and began getting some comments that are not so funny. “They then began receiving these threats that they’re going to get hurt by a clown,” says Thompson.
Police in South Haven say at this point it appears the Clown Nation is a chat group just trying to scare people.
“We think this might be copy cat kids affiliating with it and saying they’re from the Clown Nation,” Says Thompson.
Police say that as soon as they started investigating the suspicious profile, it disappeared from Facebook.
Authorities are working with Facebook to see if some information can be retrieved of who’s behind the Clown Nation profile.
The online threats are no laughing matter, police say; they can bring some serious charges.