It might not be Halloween yet, but that hasn’t stopped dozens of clowns from popping up all over America. Around the end of August, people started to spot “creepy clowns” in their towns. There have been sightings in over 35 states including Texas, Wisconsin, South Carolina among others.
More recently, the clowns started to show up in Washington. Video recordings caught them in Tacoma and Lynnwood and many have been seen in Everett, Puyallup and other parts of western Washington.
Reasons as to why these clowns are on the streets, generating terror from the public, is still unclear at the moment, but many different people have theories that the clowns are a marketing strategy for upcoming horror movie “It”, or here simply to terrorize the public.
The safety of schools is another big worry, concerning this situation as a whole. Schools across the country have closed due to threats from clowns or people posing as them. There have even been F.B.I investigations involving the clown outbreak in Gallatin County, Kentucky.
There were circulating rumors around MTHS with students claiming that the creepy clowns would be coming to schools on Friday, Oct. 7, but no threats have been made to MTHS neither directly nor indirectly. To ensure safety of students, Principal Greg Schwab has contacted the MLT Police.
“We work closely with law enforcement agencies and will take any threat or rumor seriously. If students are distressed at school, our counselors, teachers and administrators are always available,” Edmonds School District Superintendent Kristine McDuffy wrote in a letter addressed to students and family members of students that this is affecting.
In order to be sure of our safety as community, students are asked to take measures to make sure the community is as safe and efficient as possible.
“Communication like this helps. Getting the word out about the inappropriate nature of this kind of behavior is really important, not because you will get in trouble if you do something [students will receive consequences], but because we need to remember that we are a community and we take care of each other,” Schwab said. “We don’t intentionally do things to one another that cause harm or distress.”
During school hours the administration is sure to have all exterior doors locked, excluding the main entrance and HUB doors.
More rumors by students stated that a clown was spotted on campus early in the morning on October 6th. According to Schwab, there is no proof that it actually happened and he advised students to stop engaging in these kinds of rumors, because he said all it does is lead to people feeling even more scared than they already do.
Regarding the clowns entering Friday’s assembly, Schwab assured students they have nothing to worry about. These are just rumors and students should stop getting so “wound up” in these rumors as they are untrue and any incidents involving MTHS will be handled properly.
However, precautions need to be taken, according to Schwab, including not going out alone at night and being aware of all surroundings. Schwab also discouraged students from sharing any personal information such as your full name, address, telephone number, etc.
Schwab also advises students to report any sightings of someone dressed as a clown. Although it is not illegal to dress up like a clown, nobody can be too safe he said.
