Less than 48 hours after a threat was made against the Salem Middle School and its students and staff, Salem Police Department has identified a Person of Interest.
Police have declined to identify the person, who they said currently lives in another law enforcement jurisdiction.
“We have made contact with the proper law enforcement agency,” said Assistant Salem Police Chief Tim Miller. “They have been briefed on the incident and are currently addressing it.”
The Salem Police Department conducted numerous interviews today.
Miller said, “The results of these interviews has given us a person of interest. At this point, we are at the mercy of the other agency, and are waiting to hear back from them after they conduct an interview.”
Miller said the other agency did advise the Salem Police Department that they have, recently, been having similar “clown threats”.
A school threat was made lasts night against Silver Creek Middle School and a teen was arrested this morning in connection with that.
However, Sellerburg Police Chief Russ Whelan told WSLM earlier this afternoon that he believes his is an isolated case and had nothing to do with Clowns. (See related story at wslmradio.com)
Additional threats were made against two schools in Louisville and schools in Jeffersonville this week.
While waiting to hear from the other agency, the Salem Police Department will continue to investigate any leads that we may find.
Salem Police responded to a two vehicle accident this morning on State Road 60 East, sending three to the hospital.
911 was called at 11:17a after a 2009 Toyota Matrix turned into the path of a 2016 Hyundai Sonnata.
Larry King, 78, Salem was driving the Toyota and had stopped on 60 and was waiting to turn left onto Old State Road 60.
Jessica Tipton, 33, Pekin, was driving the Hyundai into Salem when King turned into her path.
Tipton continued East and hit the Cowboy’s Convenient Store sign and tore the left side pole loose from the foundation. The car also struck a telephone pole.
Both vehicles were a total loss, according to Salem Police Officer Eric Mills.
Tipton, Cheryl McMahan, 34, Salem and Tipton’s 4 year old daughter, who was restrained in car seat, were taken to St. Vincent Salem hospital where they were treated and released.
Assisting in the accident were the Salem Police Department and Washington County EMS.
Salem Police Officer Eric Mills checks out the Hyundai driven by Tipton after it came to rest in the front of Jason Wade’s Insurance business on State Road 60 East.
The annual Orange County Republican Party fall dinner is set for Oct. 3 at the Paoli High School cafeteria.
The event will begin at 6:15 p.m. when carryout meals will be available, with dinner at 7 p.m. The program will follow.
Tickets for the event are available from Republican precinct committeemen, vice committeemen, candidates and elected officials. The ticket cost is $15.
The keynote speaker will be Trey Hollingsworth, 9th District candidate for Congress.
Other officials and candidates or their representatives expected to attend are U.S. Senate candidate Todd Young, Indiana gubernatorial candidate Eric Holcomb, Attorney General candidate Curtis Hill, Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Dr. Jennifer McCormick, State Sen. Erin Houchin, Indiana House District 73 Rep. Steve Davisson and Indiana House District 74 Rep. Lloyd Arnold.
Local county election candidates will be in attendance to greet those present.
Mr. Harold Thomas “Tom” Robbins Jr. age 68 of Salem passed away Wednesday, September 28 at his home.
Mr. Robbins was born December 20, 1947 in New Albany the son of Harold Robbins Jr. and Jean Wininger Robbins.
He was the owner of Robbins TV and Video for 35 years.
He is survived by his wife:Suzanne Harris Robbins.They were married March 27, 1971.
He is also survived by five sons:Scott Robbins of Salem, Court Robbins of Salem, Zach Robbins of New Albany, Ethan Robbins of Salem and Nick Robbins of Aurora, Colorado, his father:Harold T. Robbins Sr. of Salem, a brother:Jerry Robbins of Salem, two sisters:Pam Ingram and Carolyn Adkins both of Salem, 5 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild.
He was preceded in death by his mother:Jean Robbins.
Graveside services will be held Friday at 11:00AM at Crown Hill Cemetery.Burial will follow in Crown Hill Cemetery.
A twisted form of Trick or Treat seems to have come early to the Kentuckiana area as well as many other states around the country in the form of scary clown pictures being posted online.
What started as a prank has mushroomed into a serious threat of violence against local schools in Washington County.
The situation is no joke to the police, especially over the last 24 hours.
According to the Salem Police Department, a threat was reported to a local officer Tuesday after 7p. Police began investigating and by 10p, Salem Schools had sent out an automated message to parents and staff regarding “heightened” security in place for Wednesday.
Police have come to the conclusion that the “threat” was a hoax, but still are looking for the person or persons who started all this.
“It’s the ‘in’ thing to do now, to take pictures of scary clowns and post them on social media,” said Salem Police Major Detective Scott Ratts.
According to Ratts, things actually got started locally a few weeks ago after a man who wanted to scare his aunt, purchased a cheap mask from a department store and posed for a picture near the Bradie M. Shrum Elementary School sign. He later posted that picture on her social media page.
This is the original picture that has turned into threatening local schools on social media. It was originally meant as a prank for a family member who was afraid of clowns. Someone has taken the picture and used it as a form of terrorism.
Someone with the screen name of Anonymous The Klown started as a general threat that has morphed into a threat against Salem Middle School.
“Anonymous took that picture from a social media site, started his or her own account called Anonymous the Klown,” Ratts said. “This person started friending others on social media and soon the chatter turned evil. And Anonymous is using this picture; unknown to the person who tried to scare his aunt.”
Police have contacted officials at Instagram to enlist their help on tracing the origin of the account and the contact information for who it is registered to.
“The guy sees the picture and sees it associated with this Anonymous the Klown,” said Ratts. “He comes in to the police station last night and says, hey, that’s my picture on there, but I didn’t make any threats.”
Ratts said Anonymous has stolen other pictures of other clowns and using it for evil purposes on the Instagram page.
This is where the story gets confusing because the original threat was vague and did not detail any school in the area.
Ratts said the original threat read: “I hope the clowns go to the school and kill everyone.”
The threat doesn’t mention any school by name in Salem or Washington County.
“Then people posting messages around social media begin making threats against Salem and Springs Valley,” said Ratts. “In the meantime there are clown pictures that have popped up in Jeffersonville and in other counties. Not the same one that has popped up in Washington County.”
When asked if the person who posted the original clown picture with Bradie M. Shrum School in the background was dangerous, Ratts answered: “Absolutely not. I do not think he will cause any harm in Washington County. His picture was ripped off. I think when the dust settles, it’s going to be multiple people. With the current trend of using clowns to scare people, I don’t think it’s one kid pranking all of Southern Indiana.”
Ratts said Salem Police began interviewing students about the incident and who Anonymous The Klown is.
“We talk to one and they say it could be this one, and we talk to that one and they say it could be someone else…it’s a big circle,” Ratts said.
“First and foremost this is serious,” said Ratts. “When you threaten someone’s life it’s a terroristic threat.”
He said this is a Felony and penalties involved for a terrorist threat typically include jail time.
Anyone convicted of a misdemeanor offense for making a terrorist or criminal threat faces up to one year in a county jail.
For a felony conviction, a court can impose a prison sentence of a year or more.
THE THREAT IS EVER-CHANGING
Ratts explained that the threat has changed over the past 24 hours and continues to evolve.
“On this Anonymous The Klown Instagram page, somebody posted, bring it on clowns….I hope I see one, I’ll chase them. Another person said, I hope he hits Springs Valley,” noted Ratts.”
At one time, Ratts said, the Anonymous the Klown page was linked to a young lady at SMS. The link has since been removed.
“We were interviewing her and her father today and things were being posted while we were sitting there in front of her, so we know it’s not her,” he said.
“Anonymous has posted other pictures of other clown pictures — not just the guy from Bradie M Shrum. It’s turned into all this,” said Ratts.
Ratts said there was another user that turned up in the investigation – CLOWN POP UP. In fact, four accounts have been discovered so far.
Assistant Police Chief Tim Miller noted this afternoon that increased security will be in place at all three Salem schools this week or until someone is found to be responsible.
“This will be the safest week ever,” said Ratts. “We’re taking it very seriously. And I’m extremely impressed with the school system. I feel very confident with the personnel we have stationed at the schools and with the job they’re doing.”
Other accounts in other counties are being tracked, said Ratts.
According to a Jefferson County Public School spokesperson, a potential threat was made on social media today regarding Farnsley Middle School and Moore High School. The photos on social media featured clowns.
JCPS believes the threats were hoaxes, but the district is taking the situation very seriously. As a precaution, both schools will be operating on heightened security for the remainder of the day.
A JCPS spokesperson said in both cases they believe they know who is behind the threats. Louisville Police is handling the threats at Moore, and the threats at Farnsley are being handled by the school.
Because the investigation is ongoing, the nature of the threats and the content of the messages have not been released.
Other threats were made on Tuesday evening to school districts in Clarksville and Jeffersonville.
According to the Salem Police Department, officers have not found any validity to the threats brought to the schools.
Assistant Chief Tim Miller said several students have been interviewed by the Salem Police Department and several more interviews are being scheduled in an attempt to locate the original source of the threat.
A heightened level of security will continue on all three schools grounds through the rest of the week, especially after two children and a teacher were shot by a gunman at an elementary school in Townville, South Carolina.
Security is taken very seriously these days – and Salem Community Schools is being tested this week after a threat was made last night to shoot students and/of staff. Local and state police have provided additional security today. This will continue throughout the rest of the week or until police have a suspect in custody.
Additional threats were made against schools in Jeffersonville and Springs Valley in Indiana and others in additional states.
There was a Facebook bomb threat made in January 2016 at East Washington Schools.
According to Salem Schools Superintendent Dr. Lynn Reed, she and the administration have been working closely with local police to investigate the threat that was originally made on social media.
“Salem PD has been collaborating with neighboring law enforcement and have determined the threat is not credible,” said Reed. “SCS will continue to follow our safety protocol. We consider any threat credible until otherwise notified by law enforcement.”
Miller said the investigation is continuing.
“We appreciate the strong presence of the Salem Police Department and the Indiana State Police,” said Reed.
Because of the threat made last Tuesday, parents held many students at home today. In fact, attendance fell to 40 percent at both Salem Middle School and Bradie M. Shrum Elementary Schools as a result.
Attendance was a little over 50 percent at Salem High School.
“We would like to thank the public for the overwhelming amount of support and assistance that has been given to the department since the beginning of this incident,” said Miller. “I hope to continue to have your assistance should anyone have any more information.”
Miller asked the public to continue to be vigilant. “If you see any suspicious activity or have information in reference to this incident, please don’t hesitate to contact the Salem Police Department at 812.883.5100,” said Miller.
According to the Salem Police Department, no positive identification has been made but police are interviewing suspects linked to the threats made against the Salem Middle School.
Assistant Chief of Police Tim Miller said police are “in the process of interviews.”
Salem Schools Superintendent Dr. Lynn Reed said police were interviewing students who might have information regarding the threats.
The threat kept many students home in Salem. Attendance was down to 40 percent at both Bradie M. Shrum and Salem Middle School.
Attendance was at a little over 50 percent at Salem High School, according to Reed.
“We have additional police patrol on campus & we are not having outdoor recess,” said Reed. “We have put safety as our number one priority and have cameras inside and outside our buildings, enhanced safety glass at our entrance doors, new locking systems, and last year all staff received training from School Zone – a school safety company recommended by the Indiana School Safety Academy.”
Reed added: “We have 5 certified school safety specialists in our district and visitors to all three schools must be granted entrance by a secretary who has an audio/video monitor.”
Threats were made Tuesday night regarding a possible shooting on Wednesday at the Salem Middle School.
At approximately 7:45p, Salem Police Resource Officer Carey Cook was notified of a threat made against the Salem Middle School.
Cook passed the information to the school and Miller.
According to police, the threat was made from fake Instagram and Snapchat accounts.
Officers are currently investigating the matter.
The school sent an automated messaged to parents of all students to make them aware of the situation last evening.
The Salem Police Department has received additional assistance from the Washington County Sheriff’s Department and Indiana State Police to heighten the security of the schools on Wednesday.
Last night, two additional schools in southern Indiana had threats made similar to the one against Salem Middle School and will be on heightened security today, after police say someone made “direct threats” on social media.
Jeffersonville Police held a late night press conference Tuesday night.
They say violent threats were made against two specific Greater Clark County Schools in Jeffersonville. The threats specifically targeted: Parkview and River Valley Middle Schools.
Police haven’t said exactly what those posts say, but officials say it’s the same account threatened both the schools and students.
Jeffersonville Police Major Joe Hubbard says they are working with Greater Clark County school officials to investigate.
