Local clown reports received but also questioned
September 28, 2016
Middle school student threatened to “rape and kill”
September 30, 2016
A flurry of panicked calls of a creepy clown sighted near a wooded area in Houma Wednesday resulted in the mystery figure being unmasked – by his mother.
Terrebonne Chief of Detectives Malcolm Wolfe said dispatchers received multiple calls from anonymous callers at around 3:30 p.m. “regarding someone wearing a costume and a mask near the wood line in the rear of Colonial Village Apartments.”
The calls came on the heels of two days’ worth of clown sightings in several parish neighborhoods. Calls received Tuesday indicated a figure dressed in black with a white mask. The Wednesday call described a figure in white; one caller sent a photo taken with a mobile phone. The figure resembled a wraith more than a traditional clown.
At 3:35 p.m. a deputy responded to the Colonial Village management office in response to a call, where a woman awaited his arrival with her 11-year-old son.
The woman, whom Wolfe did not identify, said she had heard neighbors talking about seeing someone in what appeared to be a clown outfit, and knew that her son had recently bought a mask. She brought him to the rental office because she does not have a telephone or internet service.
“According to the information obtained the mother nor the 11-year-old child knew of the recent incidents with people wearing clown masks,” Wolfe said. The deputy informed the mother of calls received Tuesday and Wednesday, and of a national wave of people seeing “creepy clowns.”
After speaking further with mother and son, the deputy went to Halloween Spirits, a costume store at 6441 West Park Ave., and verified that the mask was purchased from there earlier in the day.
The boy told the deputy that he was trying to scare his friends.
The mother of the child properly disposed of the mask, and the deputy counseled her and the child about the dangers involved with such masquerading, and the Louisiana statute that makes doing so a criminal offense except during Halloween and Mardi Gras.
Further investigation indicated that the child was not involved in any other incidents. No criminal charges are being pursued. But Sheriff Jerry Larpenter said he is thankful to the public for their awareness and for making the reports.
