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Parents find hit list on social media with their children's names on it

NEW BRIGHTON, Pa. — Parents contacted Channel 11 after they discovered a hit list with their children's names on it.

The Instagram post containing the names of 10 Beaver County children is now gone.

The parents are upset and scared and even though every post related to the hit list has been deleted, police are investigating.

"It's a hit list," mother Melissa Jackson said. "He was No. 5."

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Her teenage son was on a list that was part of an Instagram page that popped up overnight called "New Brighton Clowns" that popped up overnight.

All posts have since been deleted, but a group of mothers obtained screen-grabs of the most shocking ones and shared them with Channel 11.

One picture shows a black background with two words on it: "It begins." The words are followed by pictures of a gun and a clown face.

Another post reads: "Chapter 1 starts with him."

A post contained a list of 10 names -- all teenage boys, 15 to 16 years old, who go to New Brighton Area School District.

The words and the threats scared Nicole White, whose son was No. 4.

"They're going to come shoot us. They're going to come stab us," she said.

Channel 11 talked with New Brighton Police, who got a call Wednesday night alerting them to the possible threat against students. Police are taking the threat seriously and had extra police at the school on Thursday.

The district also contacted Channel 11, saying, "In discussion with New Brighton police, we felt there was no credible threat and that school should proceed. Police provided an extra presence on campus and students bags were checked upon entering school."

The mothers of the teens on the hit list told Channel 11 that extra police protection and school involvement helps, but they're still concerned for their sons.

District leaders also told Channel 11 they checked all the student's backpacks Thursday morning and will follow the Police Department's lead on how to handle the issue.