PHILADELPHIA – School officials are bringing in the big guns to address recent online threats from creepy clowns.

On Sunday, The School District of Philadelphia responded to recent reported threats to specific schools by creepy clowns on Instagram by calling in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to investigate, WPVI reports.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

“The School District of Philadelphia’s Office of School Safety alerted both the Philadelphia Police Department and the Office of Homeland Security Saturday upon learning of these disturbing social media posts. The safety of our children and the communities surrounding our schools is a top priority for us and we are taking this matter seriously,” according to a joint statement by Philadelphia police and school officials.

“The Philadelphia Police Department is actively investigating these social media posts and pursuing those responsible for them. The SDP Office of School Safety will continue working in concert with the PPD to ensure the safety of our children and our schools when school reopens on Wednesday after the holiday break,” it continued. “While there have been similar social media posts regarding schools in other states and in Pennsylvania the PPD and the SDP remain in contact with Homeland Security and will continue to investigate the local threats on social media.”

[xyz-ihs snippet=”NEW-In-Article-Rev-Content-Widget”]

The recent posts targeting Philadelphia students are the latest in a recent trend of creepy clown problems plaguing communities across the country. In some cases, actual clowns have been spotted prowling school grounds or lurking in the woods, attempting to lure children or attack them. In other cases, the clowns threatened schools or students online, and both situations have forced several schools into lockdowns or to cancel classes, EAGnews reports.

In Philadelphia, a post to Instagram by “Clown_of_Philly” on Saturday threatened students at a specific local school.

“Coming to Neuman Goretti on Monday!!” it read. “Going to shoot all the students and teachers.”

MORE NEWS: How to prepare for face-to-face classes

According to the Philly Voice:

One post from @clownsofphilly reads “SCHOOLS DOWNTOWN” and lists Roman Catholic High School, J.W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School, String Theory Schools and “FRIENDSHIP,” an apparent reference to Friends Select School. The caption reads, “We going to these schools on Thursday.”

Another post from @phillyclown215 listed Mastery Charter School’s Shoemaker Campus, Imhotep Institute Charter High School, Olney High School, Delaware Valley Charter School, Philadelphia Electrical & Tech Charter High School, Martin Luther King High School, Frankford High School, and “Harden,” an apparent reference to Warren G. Harding Middle School. “HERES THE SCHOOLS WE COMING FOR,” the post reads.

The account @philly_clowns215 listed the Francis Hopkinson School, Nueva Esperanza Academy Charter School, Edison/Fareira High School, Mariana Bracetti Academy Charter School, Gilbert Spruance Elementary School and Northeast High School. The post said those were the schools “we’ll be at” on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, adding that there were 12 people involved. “This ain’t no joke,” the caption reads.

The account @philly_clowns_ posted a pictured of the district headquarters with the caption “Don’t let this open on Wednesday me and my friends are going to blow it up.”

Philadelphia schools are closed until Wednesday for Rosh Hashanah, though Catholic schools are scheduled to continue classes Monday.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia also responded to the online threats.

“Schools that were specifically named in threats have been in direct contact with law enforcement and will have police presence tomorrow as a precautionary measure,” Archdiocese spokesman Ken Gavin told the Voice. “The Archdiocese is very grateful for the law enforcement in the community for its ongoing assistance.”

“I’m a little nervous. Once again, it’s such a close-knit community that we don’t let that happen,” Pete Sapienza, of South Philadelphia, told WPVI at a Italian festival a few blocks from Neumann Goretti on Sunday.

“The neighborhood would never let it happen because it’s such a close and tight community,” he said. “It would definitely be stopped.”