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Florida teens arrested for wearing Purge masks, scaring students

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Two Florida students are facing charges for wearing masks from the movie “The Purge: Anarchy" and scaring students after a threat was made on social media Friday.

Lake County high schools were put on high alert Friday when the threat surfaced on social media, saying clowns would be kidnapping students and teachers.

One of the students arrested was a minor and the other was 18-year-old Fernando Carrion Coss.

The social media post has some school districts concerned that the clown sightings are more than pranks.

The post threatened schools, without a specific location, and districts across the state had to decide how to react.

"We didn't know where it had originated, where it came from or who is responsible for the post and we still don't know," said Lt. John Herrell of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

As a precaution, district officials put schools on alert. They didn't order lockdowns, but they asked principals to limit unnecessary movement.

Deputies said that a student showed them the message Thursday night. Deputies contacted the district, and that’s when Lake County high schools were put on alert.

Early Friday afternoon, WFTV reported that the threat was not credible, and that deputies are working with other law enforcement agencies to find out where the post originated.

To make matters worse, officials said two students wearing “disturbing” masks were caught scaring people at South Lake High School.

Deputies said the two South Lake High students were arrested on misdemeanor charges for wearing the masks while approaching students in the parking lot and scaring them.

"As the students were pulling into the parking lot, two students were running around in these masks, they were yanking car doors open and scaring people," Herrell said.