Masks found near Puyallup's Rogers High after reports of clown with knife

PUYALLUP, Wash. -- (KCPQ) -- A tense, confusing week in the Puyallup School District continued Tuesday as Emerald Ridge High School was closed for an online threat against specific students, and two clown masks were found on a trail near Rogers High School following a report of a clown armed with a knife near the school.

The threats at Emerald Ridge were not clown-related, police said. Glacier View Junior High also closed Tuesday because of its proximity to Emerald Ridge.

Police are still investigating the report of the armed clown at Rogers – which, coincidentally, was, placed on modified lockdown Monday following a separate, non-clown-related threat made against specific students.

Deputies said the Rogers students who were affected in the non-clown threat had been contacted.

In the Emerald Ridge incident, Puyallup police said they served a search warrant at a home in Puyallup related to the incident, which began with a threat on an online forum in Europe targeting specific students. Police said the threat doesn't appear related to terrorism, and the investigation is ongoing.

According to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, 911 dispatchers have received 17 different clown-related calls across the county in the last three weeks. Eleven of those calls have come in the past two days.

“These calls are primarily reported as suspicious persons and vehicles,” deputies said. “There have been no confirmed assaults or weapons recovered.”

Here's a summary of the confusing events:

Emerald Ridge High School

• Closed Tuesday.
• Threats made in an online forum in Europe.
• No threats related to clowns.

Rogers High School

• Modified lock down during lunch on Monday.
• Lock down related to specific threats against students.
• Lock down not related to clowns.
• Separately, police received reports of a clown armed with a knife Tuesday.
• Later Tuesday, police found two clown masks on a trail near the school.

Glacier View Junior High School