As you may be aware, there is a social media hoax that is being shared across the U.S. about clowns attacking people in communities and other threats of violence. Some of these threats have been related to schools in the Bay Area. There have been no clown sightings in Benicia and no local threats have been substantiated as of this writing.
Tonight we received a report of a threat on social media against Benicia Middle School made by an individual identifying him\herself as a clown. The anonymous threats include a picture of a clown’s face with the statements “I’m going to shoot up your school BMS,” and “I’m coming to get you BMS.”
As always, the safety of our students and staff is our top priority. The Benicia Unified School District and the Benicia Police Department take all threats very seriously and investigate them thoroughly. Benicia Police Department will be taking additional steps beginning today to increase police presence in and around our schools as a precautionary measure.
Please take a moment to talk to your student about making good choices online. The best advice is to refrain from re-tweeting, posting or interacting with these threats. Rumors develop very quickly when social media is involved. We want to make certain that we are dealing with factual information.
We recognize how scary these things can be. We will continue to reassure our students, staff, and families and provide you with updates as they become available.
Sincerely,
Charles F. Young, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Benicia Unified School District