SC - Clowns spotted trying to lure kids into South Carolina woods

[Tillicum]

2 arrests, some schools closed amid clown threats in Ohio

A reported early Friday attack on a woman in Reading, Ohio, by a person dressed as a clown prompted Reading Community City School District officials to cancel classes for the day. A woman told Reading police she was smoking a cigarette on her porch when someone wearing a clown costume appeared and grabbed her by the throat. The person told her, "I should just kill you now" and "Some students and teachers would wish they were never born at the Jr. and Sr. High School today," police said.

 

[Indy Anna]

2 arrests, some schools closed amid clown threats in Ohio

Wow. I used to live in Reading. I still have family in the Cincy area. My mother is worried about my sister taking the dogs for a walk late at night (they are small dogs although the larger, older one thinks he is pretty fierce).

 

[bluesneakers]

7 arrests made as 'creepy clown' threat spreads

Montgomery police reported Friday evening five Sycamore students were arrested in connection with the threats. According to police, the students were arrested after suggesting a clown organization, called "Clown Clan," go to their schools. The students are being charged with inducing panic.

Reading High School and Mount Notre Dame High School were closed Friday as a precaution following an attack by a man reportedly outfitted in clown garb. The suspect allegedly grabbed a woman's throat and threatened her before making a vague threat against Reading High School. The incident occurred around 4 a.m.

The threats began rolling in Tuesday. Gallatin County Schools in Northern Kentucky had heightened security after a "vague threat of violence." The threat stemmed from Facebook conversation screenshots with individuals dressed as clowns in their profile pictures.

Clown clan twitter:
https://twitter.com/clownclann

We are coming to a town near you be one with us or be against us your choice not ours

 

[Tillicum]

This is truly unbelievable :shakehead:

 

[Indy Anna]

CLOWNS IN AMERICA: TIMELINE OF SCARES AND SIGHTINGS

http://abc7ny.com/news/clowns-in-america-timeline-of-scares-and-sightings/1533871/

 

[Indy Anna]

7 arrests made as 'creepy clown' threat spreads







Clown clan twitter:
https://twitter.com/clownclann

We are coming to a town near you be one with us or be against us your choice not ours

I remember when clowns "coming to a town near you" meant the circus was coming to town. :gaah:

 

[silversurvivor]

Poking around on the Web they have caused lock downs at Long Island schools complete with similar threats as well as upstate NY and NJ

http://www.wsj.com/articles/beware-of-clowns-suffolk-county-police-say-1475273362
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/loca...ols-Long-Island-Suffolk-County-395424411.html


Sent from my SM-T230NU using Tapatalk

 

[bluesneakers]

I can't figure out how to link to the specific post but Insane Clown Posse put up a post about the clowns.

Insane Clown Posse - September 30
https://www.facebook.com/INSANECLOWNPOSSE/

OK, Juggalos, we've received like 40 emails and even more postings on pages asking about our opinion on these so-called "killer clown" reports that keep popping up. One reporter even called and asked me if this was an "ICP promotional tactic!"

He says there are no killer clowns and also says this happened in 1981 when they were all in grade school.

And he links to this Rolling Stone article:

'Killer Clowns': Inside the Terrifying Hoax Sweeping America

Yet still, police couldn't locate a single clown to question, leaving people to wonder whether this was a hoax, a marketing ploy, or simply child's play.
But if it is all an elaborate ruse, roughly a dozen other cities are in on it – and some officials are worried there will be a violent end to the clown sightings. And in the five weeks since clowns popped up in Greenville, the pandemic has spread.

[snip]

Police have begun arresting people dressed as clowns on various charges. In Alabama, seven people are facing felonies for making a terrorist threat, while two more juveniles face lesser charges. In Middlesboro, Kentucky, a 20-year-old man was arrested for wearing a clown costume while hiding in a ditch. In Virginia, two teens were taken into custody for donning clown costumes and chasing children. And in recent days, the list has been growing.

[snip]

Since the 1980s, clowns have made appearances across the country, usually in the weeks and months leading up to Halloween.

 

[tlcya]

I am in Central IL and my facebook feed has featured several instances of locals reporting creepy clowns simply standing on the edges of cornfields staring at vehicles and occupants as they go by. Several have caught photos.

This prank has overtaken many rural areas of the country now.

 

[bluesneakers]

I am in Central IL and my facebook feed has featured several instances of locals reporting creepy clowns simply standing on the edges of cornfields staring at vehicles and occupants as they go by. Several have caught photos.

This prank has overtaken many rural areas of the country now.

It's getting ridiculous and we've still got another month until Hallowe'en.

Have there been any other pranks like this? I can think of hoaxes and urban legends but nothing quite like this.

 

[dotr]

http://www.people.com/article/creepy-clown-sightings-2016-whats-happening-explainer

Radford, speaking to PEOPLE, breaks down the spate of clown "sightings" in recent weeks, everywhere from Georgia to Maryland to Oregon. He explains why the sightings have multiplied, why they attract such interest – and what's likely to happen next.

One thing that worries Radford in this case is the chance for overreaction: For example, in one case, police said local residents fired into the woods after becoming suspicious of the reported clowns.

"[The panic] really is scaring people," Radford says.

What is happening today is a blend of two kinds of clown sightings, Radford says:

There are "stalker clowns," or prankish and menacing figures who may turn up in parking lots or parks and who turn out to actually have been someone dressing up as a clown, either as a kind of stunt or for publicity. And then there are "phantom clowns," who are often reported or "seen" by children trying to lure or abduct them, often near wooded areas.

A stalker clown is someone who actually dresses as a clown to scare or prank someone, Radford says. Such incidents in recent years have made national, and in some cases international, news. He says the first breakthrough stalker clown was in 2013 in Northampton, England, in what later turned out to be a combination of performance art and publicity stunt.

Copy cats soon arose, and there were high-profile stalker clowns in Staten Island, New York, France and elsewhere, Radford says.

That's an important distinction: "They're essentially all copy cats," Radford says.

He says the appeal of being a stalker clown is simple: Being "creepy" – dressing as a scary clown in public, but not usually doing anything else – is usually not illegal.

Thus, it's a "low-risk, high-reward stunt, because it's virtually guaranteed to make local or national news," Radford says.

 

[LietKynes]

Someone dressed as a clown ( whilst lurking around residential areas, parks where there are kids are playing, etc.) --innocent intentions or otherwise-- is going to get hurt or shot.
Just stupidity.

 

[ladygator]

Has there been a legit attack on anyone by a clown?

As far as I'm aware, the fear of the clown, made popular in American pop-culture, has turned into a wide spread prank.

A middle school by me was on lock-down Friday. Now the Sheriff office is releasing pressers about clowns. And even warning about wasting valuable resources on bogus claims.

Rather crazy!!!

 

[LietKynes]

Has there been a legit attack on anyone by a clown?

As far as I'm aware, the fear of the clown, made popular in American pop-culture, has turned into a wide spread prank.

A middle school by me was on lock-down Friday. Now the Sheriff office is releasing pressers about clowns. And even warning about wasting valuable resources on bogus claims.

Rather crazy!!!

SABBM

Found this--- apologies if it's been posted.
www.wave3.com/story/33296685/police-man-in-clown-mask-attacks-woman-on-walking-trail

A woman told police that a man wearing a clown mask attacked her at the Winchester Traveling Trail, trying to pull her into the woods.

Police say she was able to fight him off and run to safety.

Nice way for the perp to disguise himself --- Now she can't i.d. him ! :stormingmad:

 

[Gardener1850]

It's spread to Idaho as well:

Now, law enforcement in Shoshone County have taken to Facebook to confirm that at least one individual, dressed as a clown, has been exhibiting stalking behavior and violence.

"A majority of these cases seem to be pranks that are taken too far," wrote Shoshone County Sheriff Lieutenant Taylor Marlow. "The Shoshone County Sheriff's Office takes these reports seriously and are currently working on the 'clown' cases that have been reported to us."

http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/n-...ting-creepy-clown-threats/Content?oid=3901978

 

[neesaki]

This is what I think about all these clowns: They're criminals using the clown disguise to disguise themselves. After hearing about it and reading about it, they're thinking, Hey, I can do that and get away with my crime. No one can identify me. jmo

 

[tarabull]

'A nightmare coming true': Gangs of clowns terrorize N.S. drivers
October 1, 2016

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/a-nigh...s-drivers-1.3097450?google_editors_picks=true

 

[Jax49]

'A nightmare coming true': Gangs of clowns terrorize N.S. drivers
October 1, 2016

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/a-nigh...s-drivers-1.3097450?google_editors_picks=true

Wow. Some idiot is going to get run over and killed.

 

[dotr]

http://www.cp24.com/world/police-say-woman-who-was-late-for-work-lied-about-clown-attack-1.3099231
[h=1]Police say woman who was late for work lied about clown attack[/h]October 3, 2016

READING, Ohio - Police say an 18-year-old Ohio woman lied about being attacked by a knife-wielding clown as an excuse for being late for work.

Police in the Cincinnati suburb of Reading say investigators found inconsistencies in 18-year-old Alexsandra Conley's story and charged her with making a false alarm, a misdemeanour.

 

[Dogface]

Wow. Some idiot is going to get run over and killed.

Or cause someone to crash and be killed. They need to have police driving in plain clothes in unmarked cars in these areas with another cop laying down in the backseat ready to arrest these creeps!