US student charged with 'terroristic threat' for clown hoax

A 14-year-old school student in the US has been arrested and charged with making an anonymous "terroristic threat" on social media against a school.
The student used a clown image on his social media site under the name Larry Brown to threaten the school. This led many people to link the threat to a recent spate of clown sightings across the country, officials said.
He is accused of threatening "to shoot up an Houston Independent School District (HISD) school with his clown friends", officials said yesterday.
The student, who was not identified as he is a juvenile, was charged with "terroristic threat", a third degree felony, by Harris County District Attorney's Office.

A message sent to parents of HISD students did not mention increased security, but said the safety of students is of top priority.
Several schools in the US have recently been the target of social media threats involving creepy clown images.