Creepy clowns are no joke in Riverdale

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A summer time trend of nefarious pranksters dressing up as clowns to frighten passersby has come to Riverdale, with one confirmed sighting of the so-called “creepy clowns” on W. 238th Street and Greystone Avenue.

According to an email from Manhattan College’s public safety office, a creepy clown appeared on the street and reportedly chased a student down the street.

“The ‘creepy clown’ phenomenon has spread throughout the country since this past summer and this is the first report of a ‘creepy clown’ sighting near the college,” the email stated. “In multiple states, people have been reporting seeing clowns standing on the side of roads at night, in parking lots, outside schools and near the woods. Law enforcement has dubbed these reports as nothing more than pranks meant to scare people.”

The creepy-clown phenomenon began when two men in North Carolina dressed as clowns and tried to lure children into the woods. Since then, it has largely been taken up as a copycat prank around college campuses.
For students at DeWitt Clinton High School like Ailed and Lorena, who both declined to provide their last names, the trend is troubling.

“I don’t feel safe around here,” said Ailed, adding she did not know what to believe about the creepy-clown trend. She added that she takes the bus to Clinton and the bus stop is a long walk from the school—a reason for concerns, she said.

“What if we are not on the school grounds? It’s even worse,” said Lorena, who added that she shared Ailed’s discomfort about walking to and from the bus stop.
Halloween adds an extra cause for concern, both students said.

“It’s more crazy now but now they are coming up with all these clown things. A lot of my friends’ mothers won’t let them out or anything like that because [of] the clowns and, you know, that you can get hurt. And, like us traveling alone, girls and everything like that, things can happen,” Ailed said.

Lorena added: “You never know who is actually gonna kill somebody. There could be a lot of people who are dressed as clowns and you don’t know who is gonna do what.”
Ernest Carrasquillo, a 2016 Clinton graduate, did not believe the threats were credible.

“I heard about it. It was on Facebook. People [were] talking about it. I don’t know if it’s true or not,” he said. “I know this school has a bad history so, like, they expect to come over here and see us, and kids are supposed to get scared. That’s not going to happen. It’s not going to happen over here.”

Clinton sits along Moshulu Parkway. The front side of the school has a wooded area, where, Mr. Carrasquillo said, a clown could hide.

Education Department spokeswoman Toya Holness said the “NYPD was immediately notified and determined the threats were not credible.”

“We will continue working closely with the NYPD to ensure the safety and security of all school buildings,” she said in emailed comments.

The Press obtained a copy of a letter principal Santiago Taveras wrote to students, families and staffers, dated Oct. 6, saying the threat was not credible.

“We are monitoring the situation and will continue working closely with the NYPD to ensure the safety and security of all school buildings,” the letter said. It also asked anyone who receives any threats to notify the police immediately.

Discussions of creepy clowns also made their way to a White House press briefing. Asked by a reporter whether President Obama was aware of the threat, spokesman John Earnest deferred the matter to the FBI and Homeland Security Department, The Washington Post reported on Oct. 5.

News 12 in the Bronx reported on Oct. 5 that Clinton, Kennedy, Truman and Preston high schools received threats from ‘creepy clown’ accounts on Facebook and Instagram. DNAInfo reported on Oct. 6 that a clown holding a kitchen knife had chased a teenager off a northbound number six train. NYPD Deputy

Counterterrorism Commissioner John Miller said people should not be afraid of the clowns and that none of the threats were found to be credible, DNAInfo reported.

According to Slate, clown sightings began in Massachusetts in 1981, but no clowns were ever found. The current wave of clown sightings began this past August in South Carolina.

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Editor’s note: Anthony Capote is a student at Manhattan College.

Creepy clowns, scary clowns, Manhattan College, DeWitt Clinton

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