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Creepy Clowns Spotted In Washington State As Frenzy Continues Throughout The Nation

By Heather Tooley
Published on: 10:57 PST, Oct 3, 2016

Creepy clowns have been spotted in Washington state as the disturbing trend continues. Over the weekend it was also reported that creepy clown sightings had reached parts of Idaho. Police in Nampa were alerted to various sightings — with one clown allegedly carrying a machete. None of the reports resulted in any crime or violence.

According to King 5 News, creepy clowns have been spotted in Tacoma. They’ve been seen in Spanaway, Graham, and South Hill. A video was posted of one clown walking down a street around 7 p.m. on Sunday night (seen below). Police told the caller to stay indoors.

The News Tribune elaborated a little more on the story about creepy clowns being spotted in the Tacoma area. Three people have reported seeing men dressed as creepy clowns peeking out of wooded areas and under bridges around Pierce County.

“They’re probably jumping on the bandwagon of what’s been going on around the country,” said sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer.

There doesn’t seem to be any criminally-minded individuals dressing as creepy clowns in Washington. Law enforcement is keeping an eye on the situation, but isn’t investigating anything. The hoax has been going on since it began in South Carolina in late August. Eerie clowns started luring children into the woods and were seen hanging out in strange places.

There’s not much police can do if someone chooses to dress up as a clown. It may petrify people, but it’s not against the law.

“It’s not illegal to be a clown,” Troyer said.

A spate of creepy clowns have been reported in Alabama, George, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Idaho. The spooky trend has reached Washington. Twelve people in all have been arrested for making false reports, threats, or chasing people. Most of these malicious threats have occurred on social media. Many students have received messages that clowns will be paying a visit to their schools, which has prompted higher alerts and closures in some cases.

Several schools have been shut down in Ohio and Texas due to the creepy clown threats seen on Facebook. According to Fox 4 News, several threats made against campuses in North Texas include Grady Spruce, Carter, Madison and Skyline high schools. Police are investigating the threats.

A Grady Spruce student claims to have seen a clown in the parking lot tying balloons on cars. Parents got an automated notice about the threat when they went to pick their kids up from school.

School district Police Chief Craig Miller said several schools were on lockdown, but for other reasons than the clown threats. The schools were having drug dog checks on Monday morning. He added that some of the photos on social media didn’t come from Dallas.

Sightings of creepy clowns have been a nuisance for police because they’re spending a lot of time and resources on people calling about them. The Nampa Police Department in Idaho posted a message on its Facebook page telling residents not to seek out clowns if they see them. They’re only adding to the problem by doing so.

There was also a brightly colored van spotted that had three people inside it dressed as clowns. The post was shared on social media.

In Ohio last week a woman claimed she was attacked by a clown when she was late for work. It turned out that she lied about the incident and Cincinnati police charged her for filing a false report. A few days later in Cincinnati a woman falsely claimed she was attacked by a clown on her front porch.

The epidemic of creepy clowns shows no signs of fading. With Halloween fast approaching, the pranks may continue until the end of the month.

[Featured Image by Stacey Newman/iStock Images]

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