Killer clowns, purge fears and other things on people’s minds this Halloween

Every Halloween season seems to generate its own annual fears and rumors, some of which are recycled from year to year and some that are new.

This year has been no exception, with social network spread rumors and fears about killer clowns roaming the city streets, fears of a deadly “purge”, and roving bands of violent subjects attacking unsuspecting citizens monopolizing this year’s fear conversations.

The most prominent, and in a way real, fear has been based on the recent international phenomenon of wary citizens spotting scary looking clowns wandering aimlessly around town, sitting at bus stops, carrying what appear to be weapons, standing in front of homes, peeping through bushes while hiding along tree lines or standing alongside highways.

 

Sightings of “Killer Clowns” increasing daily

Earlier this month – during only one of many clown sighting related calls for the day – a local law enforcement agency had to pull an officer away from other calls to investigate a clown-related incident. The person who called 911 told dispatchers that two subjects were following him in a car as he was walking along a rural roadway.

The two subjects were described as being dressed like clowns, complete with white face paint, big red clown-noses and bright orange hair. One of the suspects was even wearing a full rainbow-colored clown outfit.

Although the two subjects were not located in their “clown car,” while the officer was searching for the vehicle the two clowns were seen in, another person called in to report the suspicious activity of the same two clowns.

Clearly people have an in-grained fear of clowns and seeing them lurking along dark streets and in alleyways, especially around Halloween when people almost seem to want to be scared, makes people more than a bit jumpy.

The creepy clown phenomenon started as an internet prank and quickly crossed the country, where it recently landed squarely in the Inland Empire. Clown sightings are now being reported to law enforcement agencies on an almost hourly basis in many Southern California counties such as Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Orange, and Los Angeles Counties, just to name a few.

Now, local cities such as Hemet, Temecula, Lake Elsinore and countless others are experiencing increasing amounts of calls daily regarding creepy, lurking clowns. Sometimes the wandering – some would say menacing – clowns are caught on school, business and home security surveillance cameras and the videos and images are shared through social media posts.

As more videos and photographs are shared on social media depicting scary or creepy looking clowns wandering among us, copycats are only bound to increase the daily reports of clown sightings.

Unfortunately, despite warnings from law enforcement agencies and school districts, social media outlets such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter continue to spread countless new videos and photographs daily of clown sightings, some of which show creepy looking clowns scaring and sometimes even chasing unsuspecting citizens.

One particular video posted to YouTube by a prankster showed the young adult dressed up as a clown as he went out in public scaring people. His prank backfired on him when an intended victim pulled out a gun and pistol-whipped him. The beating left the creepy clown bloodied and battered, and promising to never dress up as a clown in public again.

Interview by Media 24

When has a prank gone too far?

The local sightings of clowns have become so common place, several law enforcement agencies and school districts have felt the need to issue official statements about the phenomena.

Riverside County Sheriff’s Captain Jeff Kubel, City of Temecula’s Chief of Police recently addressed the citizens of Temecula in a letter posted to social media.

“There have been several people who have expressed concern about the person(s) spotted at different locations in the city dressed as creepy clowns,” Kubel wrote. “While it is not illegal to wear a clown mask, illegally carrying weapons or making criminal threats to harm others will be thoroughly investigated and those responsible will face criminal charges.”

Kubel explained that even though there have been no known credible threats associated with the creepy clowns, “our officers are on the lookout for those engaged in any illegal activity associated with the creepy clown phenomena.”

Not all pranks prove harmless

One recent incident that gained nationwide attention happened in the City of Temecula in southwest Riverside County. The incident created a social media firestorm of controversy and as quickly as viewers could click the share button, the video made its way throughout Temecula, Murrieta and other surrounding cities in record time.

On Oct. 4, video from a security camera at Vail Ranch Middle School was posted to social media that showed a creepy clown carrying a realistic looking but fake bloody knife outside the school.

While there was no specific threat made to the school, many fearful parents who have children that attend VRMS flooded the school with concerned phone calls and inquiries. Many wanted to know if it was safe for their children to return to school the next day.

So many parents voiced concern over the VRMS incident, Temecula Unified School District released a statement about the increase in what they called “threatening clown sightings in Temecula.”

In the statement, TVUSD officials explained to parents, “Temecula PD has confirmed an individual dressed in a clown outfit holding a fake knife was videotaped in front of Vail Ranch Middle School was indeed a prank.”

“As of this afternoon, suspects have been identified and PD is currently pursuing an investigation,” school district officials continued. “Again, there are NO credible threats against any TVUSD school sites.”

However, just two days later, Chaparral High School in Temecula received a number of threatening Tweets from a subject who loosely referenced clown masks, weapons, and explosives.

The following day, the threats became so specific, the high school was forced to cease teaching activities for the day and allow students to go home.

Later in the day Temecula police officials located and arrested a juvenile who allegedly made the threats, including, “Something bad is going to happen at 10 a.m.” and “Good luck surviving the new Columbine.” He was booked into juvenile hall and is facing two felony charges.

In a written explanation and one of several updates sent to parents and guardians throughout the day, district officials stated the previous incident involving the video clip of the knife-wielding clown at the middle school three days earlier was part of the reason CHS ended school early for the day.

Clowning around covering for real crime?

According to law enforcement officials most of the clown sightings have been considered hoaxes or pranks. However, in some rare cases the creepy clown phenomena has been linked or associated with real threats and crimes. Some recent arrests and incidents involving people dressed as clowns are only fueling people’s fear of clowns and clown activity in general.

Earlier this month a 14-year-old high school student from Fontana created a widely publicized “Fontana Killer Clown” scare on social media. The minor involved was arrested, accused of making criminal threats against Fontana area high school and middle school students on social media.

According to Fontana police Sgt. Kevin Goltara, the Fontana teen was trying to scare people and see how many followers he could obtain on various social media sites.

In another incident that crossed from harmless pranks to committing a criminal act a person warned that clowns would kidnap students or kill teachers in Temecula, reading, “We will be at all High schools this friday (Oct. 6) to either kidnapp [sic] students or kill teachers going to they cars …” The threat included the hash tag, #WeNotClowninAround.

In that incident, TVUSD officials said they had not found any evidence the threat was credible and added that Temecula police officials were investigating the incident.

In another criminal act involving someone dressed as a clown in the Bay Area city of Concord, police are conducting an investigation into allegations that a man decked out in a full clown suit – complete with a blue, curly-haired wig, a blue hat and a polka-dotted, rainbow-colored outfit – allegedly attempted to kidnap a 1-year-old girl from her mother’s arms at a bus stop.

So perhaps there is something to be truly be afraid of when it comes to clowns in public. Maybe there is a reason most people turn and go the opposite direction or cross the street when they see a clown on the road ahead of them.

The real purge? 

Another subject that has social media buzzing is an urban legend based on the movie, “The Purge.” The premise of the movie – while not entirely believable – is based on the concept of one day a year when all crimes normally prosecuted by the government are allowed. During the authorized time of the purge, crimes such as violent assaults, murder, robberies and worse are all sanctioned, promoted, and even encouraged.

Purge Commencement Warning for the Emergency Broadcast System YouTube.com

 

The urban legend’s twist on the movie plot is that the purge preparing to sweep cities throughout our nation is based on criminals banding together to wreak havoc and chaos in our communities.

Go to many social media pages and you are likely to find no less than one conversation started each day from people voicing their fears and concerns regarding a pending purge.

However unlikely a purge could be in reality, maybe the fact that Halloween makes the bizarre, terrifying and impossible just a bit more believable, makes fears of a possible purge almost seem warranted.

Two things fears of killer clowns and a real-life purge have in common are pranksters who want to scare others and those who hear the rumors and are willing to believe them. No matter how outrageous those rumors might seem. At Halloween, almost anything scary is believable.

Unfortunately, for those who truly do fear clowns or the possibility of crime running rampant many are just hoping the creepy clown phenomena and online discussions regarding a looming purge will eventually lose their excitement and fade away.

In the mean time the activity and rumors only seem to be increasing proving truth can sometimes be stranger than fiction.

 

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.