After reported clown sightings went viral in Knoxville, police released a statement, saying officers are taking these threats seriously.

Knoxville police say these sightings are similar to those reported in cities throughout the country. Officers say some people have tried to stage photos in clown suits to add credibility to their claims.

Police said they take threats seriously and will investigate any reported sightings. They also will take action if anyone is caught acting in a dangerous or threatening manner to the public or is caught trying to disrupt the daily activities of business, schools or public spaces.

Chattanooga Police along with the National Crime Prevention Council offer the following tips for parents:

• Know where your children are at all times
• Point out safe places for children to play, safe roads & paths to take and safe places to go if there’s trouble.
• Encourage children to play with others. Remember there is safety in numbers.
• Don’t talk to, take anything, or go anywhere with strangers
• Always go to a trusted adult when needing help – i.e. teacher, police officer, SRO, school bus driver, parent, older siblings, neighbor.
• Report suspicious activity to school & police department

Hamilton County weighed in Wednesday morning on the clown threats with this statement:

Last night, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office received information from the Red Bank Police Department that an unidentified threat had been made stating that a clown would shoot up either Red Bank Middle or Red Bank High School. Several students received messages on their cell phones via social media.

HCSO School Resource Officers, Patrol and Criminal Investigations personnel immediately began to assess the threat and found the threat to be unfounded. HCDE Personnel were also notified. Even with this threat, without credible evidence, normal school hours have been maintained.

Due to the recent national events, especially those regarding incidents with dangerous clowns, the HCSO will respond appropriately to anyone dressed as a clown and acting or purporting to act in a dangerous or threatening manner. Furthermore, the HCSO takes any and all threats seriously and will not only investigate any threat made, but will also prosecute to the fullest extent of the law any juvenile or adult threating the lives of children or caught trying to disrupt the daily activities of local businesses, schools, or public spaces. This also includes false reporting of incidents and sightings.

“Our nation is experiencing tremendous cause to be concerned over a variety of issues. With prior incidents involving clowns in other states, I want to make it very clear that we will not tolerate people in our community dressing up as clowns and threatening our children or their safety…” stated Hamilton County Sheriff Hammond. “I want to encourage parents to speak with their children and let them know that it is not a joke to threaten their classmates or their school and there are legal repercussions for those who do.”

Grundy County Sheriff, Clint Shrum also released a statement about clown threats in his area:

The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office received two calls last night regarding someone dressed up in a clown suit in the Lankford Town Rd area of Tracy City as well as the Plainview Rd area. Those calls were answered and cleared as unfounded. We are aware that there have been similar type incidents being reported in the news and on social media in various locations throughout the country. For these reasons, the sheriff’s office wishes to advise the public that any incident of this nature reported will be taken seriously and will result in criminal charges for the person/persons found to be responsible.

Also note that any individual responsible for falsely reporting a “sighting” will also be prosecuted criminally. Also be advised that in addition to being criminally prosecuted, dressing in any type of costume and attempting to chase, lure, or cause fear with any person or group of people is very dangerous and could result in serious injury or death.

Finally, you have to be an absolute idiot to dress up like a “scary clown” and run around Grundy County scaring people. If you are thinking about doing this, you better think again. If you have done this, don’t call the Sheriff’s Office when you scare someone and they snatch up your clown hind-end. ~ Sheriff Clint Shrum