Police: App used to bully, threaten students at Waukesha's Hawthorne STEM Elementary

WAUKESHA -- Some parents were in a panic on Tuesday, October 18th, wondering whether it was safe to send their children to school. This, after a threatening message is circulated.

Authorities say a common app was being used to bully and threaten students.

Sent from the user name CreepyClown123, a threatening message to murder kids was sent to several students at Hawthorne STEM Elementary School in Waukesha.

Messages circulated to a network of parents warning a student was part of the 'creepy clown' group -- and planned to bring weapons on October 12th.

Rebekah Aguilera said she is troubled she learned about the incident from other parents Tuesday morning, nearly a week after it was first reported to the school and police.

"They should reassure parents it's being taken care of," Aguilera said. "That can be very scary if they come home from school scared from a  situation that happened. I need  be aware of it. Otherwise, there is no way I can comfort them any reassuring information to provide them with."

Parents did not get any reassurance until Tuesday morning. A voicemail and letter (seen below) was sent to parents. It explained that the investigation began immediately after it was reported to authorities.

The threat was sent using an app called muscial.ly, which has a feature allowing students to send messages to each other anonymously.

The Waukesha Police Department and School District IT Department are working to identify the source of these messages. They also plan to remove the app from all student devices.

Below is the full letter issued to parents: