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A Georgia man claims that he was recently out for a walk when he encountered “a well-dressed man with a clown mask and a tricycle.” The strange encounter then escalated into him being chased by the man, who was carrying a machete, through the streets of Atlanta.
The alleged victim, who did say he is a medical field professional, told WSB-TV News the man in the clown mask who chased him “performed some clown moves and then began pursuing him.” It was when he began backing away that the clown pulled out the machete and began chasing him.
“I was scared for my life,” the unnamed man told WSB-TV News. He asked to remain anonymous over concerns for his safety.
“He was swinging,” the alleged victim recalled, adding that at first he didn’t think he was in danger, “I’m literally thinking it’s a prank.”
But when the clown took off after him, he says he pulled out a gun and told the clown, “Please leave me alone.” The man didn’t stop.
He says not even a busy intersection slowed the clown down. “A car almost clipped him,” the man said.
The alleged victim says the clown got as close a five feet from him before he was able to get away.
“Police said he could have easily struck me with the machete at that range,” the man told WSB-TV News. The cops also ramped up patrols in the area, after the strange incident. One woman said she might just have to move because of what happened.
A study published in the International Journal of Mental Health last year attempted to uncover the reasons why so many people are afraid of clowns. Surprisingly, the researchers determined that frightening experiences such as this are not the biggest reasons for people fearing clowns.
Instead, they learned that “for many people, a fear of clowns stems from not being able to see their facial expressions due to their make-up. Not being able to detect what a clown is thinking or what they might do next makes some of us on edge when we are around them.”