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The tweet that may have started all of the chaos in schools across the country has been taken down after being shared hundreds of times. (Photo provided)

A threat on social media of clowns planning to kill teachers and kidnap students has spread like wildfire on the Internet, leading school districts and local law enforcement in New Jersey -- and nationwide -- to tell parents and students to calm down.

Rumors of schools throughout South Jersey being on lockdown because of clown sightings were unfounded, according to officials.

Still, there was a bit of a panic in numerous districts Friday morning -- including Deptford, Glassboro, Clearview, Kingsway, West Deptford, Vineland and Toms River -- when a social media post began circulating, prompting calls to the districts and rumors to spread on Facebook.

The chaos is being traced back to a Facebook message posted by an account called Aint Clownin Around that read "we will be at all High schools this friday to either kidnapp students or kill teachers going to they cars." The post, which has since been taken down, didn't specify a school and was shared throughout the country, causing alarm.

What started out weeks ago as creepy clown sightings in South Carolina and people in costumes in the woods watching children, has spread to states including North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

In Gloucester County, a "true, routine, faulty fire alarm" at the Kingsway Regional School District Friday morning only added to the concern from parents who thought the evacuation had to do with the clown threats, according to Superintendent James Lavender.

"We followed normal evacuation procedures and before we knew it parents started sending around this clown nonsense," said Lavender. "They had no ill intention, I'm sure, but their decision to start spreading unfounded threats that originated outside of the district and potentially outside of the state, complicated our procedures."

"It was a faulty alarm," he said. "The alarm was wet from the rain which caused it to go off."

Since the alarm sounded just after 7 a.m. when buses began arriving, students were asked to remain on their buses as opposed to standing in the rain.

"We're trying to handle their kids, take care of their kids, and they're causing this hysteria through Facebook posts," he added. "If you were really, truly under the impression that killer clowns were behind the alleged threat at the school, why wouldn't you call 911 instead of posting it on Facebook?"

A 'killer clowns' Instagram account posted a photo of Deptford High School, the group's alleged next target. The photo was shared on social media by parents in a community group to raise awareness of the potential threat. (Photo provided)

Concern at Deptford High School was heightened when an Instagram account called "bewarekillerclowns" posted a photo of the school. According to a post in a Deptford community group, residents reached out to police and before long the photos were removed from the account.

West Deptford Police also took to Facebook on Friday afternoon to acknowledge the unfounded rumors, but said they would be providing an added presence at schools during afternoon dismissal.

"We have been working closely with the West Deptford School Administration and we have determined that there have been no threats made toward any of our schools, students, or staff," West Deptford police said.

Other districts in New Jersey -- including Vineland in Cumberland County and Toms River in Ocean County -- dealt with the same social media claims on Friday.

Vineland Superintendent Mary Gruccio told the Daily Journal reporters that the district sent out an automated message to the community, "not intended to raise alarm, but rather to make you aware."

"The district's Security Department and law enforcement are aware of the message and prepared, as always, to respond to any situation," the message said in part.

In Toms River, police stepped up patrols at all of the schools, even though authorities acknowledged that the social media threats originated outside of New Jersey and weren't credible in this area.

"At this juncture any rumors regarding early dismissals or lockdowns are not accurate," the Tom River police said in a statement. "Please do not call the police department or schools to discuss this matter."

While the threats to the South Jersey area remain unfounded, there have been multiple reports of actual clown sightings in Phillipsburg.

Police reported that on Sunday three clowns allegedly came out of the woods and chased a child in Walter's Park and three more were reported Monday in Warren County. Someone was seen dressed as a clown on Hudson Street and a jester holding some kind of sword reportedly ran after a child on Shafer Avenue. The final report was of a dark-colored truck seen driving down Mercer Street with clowns hanging out the window.

Officers in that area reportedly discouraged the idea of "hunting" clowns and said in an earlier report that the suspicious person may be a juvenile prankster and that violence will lead to more trouble.

Caitlyn Stulpin may be reached at cstulpin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitstulpin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.