Calgary police said they have no reason to believe there’s any threat to public safety amid an apparent new fad where people take to the streets dressed as creepy clowns.
On Thursday, a junior high in Edmonton was placed on alert for several hours due to an alleged “clowning” threat in the neighbourhood. According to a letter sent home with students from the assistant principal, the threat wasn’t made against the school or students specifically.
Meanwhile, a clown-related incident also caused a scare in Fort Saskatchewan Wednesday night. A 15-year-old boy has since turned himself in to RCMP in what police called “an error in judgment on the youth’s behalf.”
The clown-related incident comes amid a rash of reported clown sightings in the United States. In some cases, it’s led to people being charged for making false reports. In Georgia, for example, police said two people were arrested after they called 911 to report that people dressed as clowns were trying to lure children into a white van.
In Calgary, police said they haven’t received any credible information to indicate a “legitimate threat to the safety of the general public in Calgary.”
For example, a video posted to Facebook by user Jessica Willard was shared by some concerned Calgarians who feared it showed a clown sighting in the community of Marlborough. However, the video appeared to actually have been filmed in Cornwall, Ont. near Marlborough Street.
In a statement emailed to Global News on Friday, police said if anyone “observes a suspicious person or receives a specific threat, they can report it to police by calling 403-266-1234 or 911 in an emergency.”
“Any reports will be investigated on a case-by-case basis.”
With files by Caley Ramsay
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