Hermiston boy uses Instagram, clown photo to threaten school shooting

A 12-year-old Hermiston boy was arrested Thursday for allegedly creating a fake social media account using a clown face, then threatening to shoot up a school.

A Hermiston Police Department school resource officer heard about the threats to students at Sandstone Middle School about 9 a.m. And after talking with several students, police took the boy into custody by 1:15 p.m., said Police Chief Jason Edmiston.

Edmiston said the boy created a fake Instagram account using the name James_4.0 and added a clown photo for his profile picture. A message about shooting up the school was then sent to some students about 11 p.m. Wednesday night and the message was then shared many times.

“We have no information of any past problems with this student and we believe this unfortunate decision to be an isolated incident spurred by the national phenomenon taking place,” said the chief.

Nationwide, people are reporting seeing people wandering around in creepy clown costumes. And in some cases, threats closed schools.

The boy, who was not named, is facing first-degree disorderly conduct charges and was taken to a juvenile detention center in Pendleton.

This story was originally published October 6, 2016 at 7:25 PM with the headline "Hermiston boy uses Instagram, clown photo to threaten school shooting."