- April 25, 2024
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Deputies got verifiable reports of a suspicious clown sighting in Palm Coast just a few hours after the Flagler County Sheriff's Office sent out a news release calling the clown threats that had been circulatingon social media a "hoax."
"At approximately 2:42 p.m. today, a citizen who resides at 20 Woodlyn Lane in Palm Coast called the FCSO to let us know that she had seen a clown in her backyard," the news release stated. "According to the caller, the clown was holding two pink balloons and as a picture was taken of the clown, the clown ran into the woods. A search of the area was completed and the clown was not located. The clown is described as wearing all pink clothing, red wig, red nose and red, white and blue shoes."
Another local resident told deputies that the resident had heard on social media that a clown might've been trying to scare kids as they got off a school bus. Deputies escorted two buses through the neighborhood to make sure the kids got home safe.
The news release the Sheriff's Office had sent earlier in the afternoon, at about 12:11 p.m., said that threats circulating on social media about people dressed as clowns hurting or scaring people are not true, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
"Many of the threats involve clowns going to school campuses to either kidnap students or kill teachers going to their cars. THIS IS NOT TRUE!" a Sheriff's Office news release posted to the official Flagler County Sheriff's Office Facebook page stated.
Local law enforcement officials and school district officials had reviewed the messages, and the Sheriff's Office news release described them as "hoaxes."
Multiple school districts and law enforcement agencies across the country have been contending with their local residents' reactions to threatening messages, which were posted on social media and went viral, about people dressed as clowns planning to hurt children or teachers.
Nationally, there have been multiple reports to law enforcement of suspicious or threatening behavior on the part of people dressed as clowns. Some arrests have been made, and some schools in Ohio closed Sept. 30 as a result of the threats, according to multiple news reports.
"Please do not use this phenomenon of false hype to dress like a clown and play jokes on others," the Sheriff's Office news release stated. "Any attempts to do so will be treated like a real threat."
The Sheriff's Office has urged anyone who sees something suspicious to call 911 immediately.
