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For the better part of nine years, the epidemic of creepy clowns that terrorized so many people in 2016 went almost completely dormant. Those days are over.
Last week, a man wearing a clown mask pointed a “hunting knife” at some folks in Portadown in Northern Ireland then ran in the direction of a school. According to a local prosecutor, police received a call at 6:45 a.m. “in relation to a male wearing a mask brandishing a knife in the vicinity of Festival Road.”
“Police arrived on the scene and were met by the injured parties who advised that the defendant, was sitting outside their house wearing a clown mask,” the prosecutor continued, according to Armagh I. “When confronted the defendant brandished what appeared to be a knife and had pointed it towards the injured parties before running off in the direction of Edenderry School.”
The man, a 40-year-old male from Portadown, was arrested after police searched his home and reported that they found a “white clown mask, a knife, a crossbow and a small amount of cannabis, a grinder and a joint were seized from the defendant. He was the only person present at that address.”
The man pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon. He was released on bail with conditions including not to enter Festival Road and is not to be under the influence of alcohol.
Another clown fought the law and lost in Florida last week
Meanwhile, in Palm Bay, Florida, police officers were called to a local shopping center after a man who had been caught trespassing and was no longer allowed to be in the area showed back up dressed as a clown.
According to the Palm Bay Police Department, the man, who was dressed up in a similar manner to Ronald McDonald, was arrested after getting into a brief scuffle with officers.
Body cam footage of the arrest shows the scuffle, which eventually resulted in police getting the man on the ground and placing him in handcuffs. A search of his pockets resulted in the police finding a weapon, while a search of a bag he was carrying revealed a pack of cigarettes, box full of clown noses, and more clown clothing.
“You look like a clown,” a police officer said to the clown as he was placed into the back of the patrol car.
“I am a clown, stupid,” the clown replied.
These two arrests now bring the number of troubling clown incidents in the month of March to at least three, stirring memories of the creepy clown craze swept across multiple countries in 2016.
Earlier this month, a creepy clown who had been frightening people at a mall and allegedly tried to steal from some of the shopping center’s businesses was arrested. The clown reportedly “took an aggressive attitude” and was apprehended by police shortly after fleeing the scene.
Also, in November of 2024, a Georgia man claimed he was out for a walk when he encountered “a well-dressed man with a clown mask and a tricycle.” The clown, who was also carrying a machete, ended up chasing the man. Luckily, he was able to escape, but not before, as he said, being “scared for my life.”