A knife-wielding clown terrorized straphangers on a New York City subway on Oct. 5, police said.
Several local media outlets reported that a suspect in clown makeup and multi-colored attire was on a northbound 6 train at the 96th Street Station when he stood in the doorway and prevented passengers from exiting the train at 1:55 p.m.
A 16-year-old boy from New Jersey ran past the clown, who then proceeded to chase the teenager out of the Upper East Side station. Once the teenager made it past the turnstiles and up the stairs, he looked behind him to see the clown on the other end of the turnstiles still holding the large kitchen knife. The boy was injured and reported the incident to authorities.
Police are looking for the suspect, and once caught, the suspect is expected to face menacing charges, reported NBC New York.
The same day, a Queens man reported to police that a knife-wielding clown with white face paint, a red wig and oversized clown shoes made threatening gestures while standing outside of his bedroom window at around 11:00 p.m., reported the New York Daily News.
The recent sightings came two days after the New York City police department assured its citizens that the clown threats were not credible.
“We’re tracking it but we don’t see any real threat here,” Deputy Commissioner John Miller said, according to Pix11. “We have tried to avoid falling into the trap of putting extra police protection or presence in places where we’ve had these.”
He added: “Our main message is don’t believe the hype and don’t be afraid of the clowns.”
The recent rash of menacing clown sightings across the nation—in as many as 20 states—has caught the attention of the White House. Press Secretary Josh Earnest was asked about the creepy clowns during a briefing on Oct. 4.
“I don’t know that the president has been briefed on this particular situation,” Earnest said. “Obviously, this is a situation that law enforcement is taking quite seriously, and they should carefully and thoroughly review perceived threats to the safety of the community, and they should do so prudently.”
Anyone with information on the clown in Wednesday’s encounter should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
