Reports of scary looking clowns stalking the public have increased so much that McDonalds mascot, Ronald McDonald, is said to be keeping a low profile. The fast food chain said they were being “thoughtful in respect to Ronald McDonald’s participation in community events” in response to the “current climate around clown sightings in communities.”
There have been sightings of people dressed as creepy looking clowns across America who are deliberately scaring the public, they are said to carry weapons and even chase people down. So far no attacks or harm to the public have been reported.
The mass panic has caused police to step in to calm the situation.
Stemming first from the US, the craze has now spread to the UK with sightings of clowns roaming the streets terrifying the public.
Supt Mark Pannone of Cumbria Police stated that in one evening they dealt with 19 incidents of clowns scaring people. North Yorkshire Police received at least 8 reports on October 10th from members of the public complaining of, “young people dressed up as clowns, jumping out at them or chasing after them.”
Twitter has used the hashtag #killerclowns since the hysteria began.
Assistant Chief Constable Catherine Hankinson of Greater Manchester Police has given the following advice,
“The safety of people is our upmost priority; we want people to feel safe going about their daily lives.
“It’s important to stress that no-one has been physically harmed and I want to reassure people that we take reports of this nature extremely seriously.
“But if you do see any individuals dressed as clowns, you should try and keep calm and report the incident to authorities.”
Aside from McDonalds’ famous mascot, many people who work in the clown profession have revealed their dismay that the creep clown trend is ruining their business. Rob Bowker, spokesman for the UK-based Clowns International said, “This is nothing to do with clowning, it’s to do with people hijacking a costume and for some sinister reason trying to scare people.”
“These idiots are undoubtedly affecting people’s awareness of clowns and undoing a lot of good,”
“My fear is that hospitals will say, ‘Oh, we can’t have clowns in because the children are getting scared,’ or stuff like that. And then all that work that’s been done over the years will be undone.”
To report an incident contact 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. In an emergency dial 999.
