There has been another creepy clown encounter — this time in Columbus, Ohio.
A 14-year-old boy heading to a school bus stop Tuesday morning told police he was chased by a black-clad man armed with a knife — and wearing a clown mask, police said.
“The victim was able to get away from him by throwing a rock at him,” said police spokeswoman Denise Alex-Bouzounis, who added that police are now canvassing the area in search of the suspect and keeping a close eye on the bus stop in north Columbus near where the incident occurred.
“We don’t know whether this was a prank or not, but we are taking it seriously,” she said.
Related: Reports of Creepy Clowns in Woods Spooking Residents of Greenville, S.C.
The alleged attack on the teenager came as police down in South Carolina were investigating multiple reports of menacing clowns allegedly trying to lure children to an abandoned house in the woods.
Alex-Bouzounis said they’re aware of the South Carolina reports but said “we’re investigating locally at first.”
Residents in the north Columbus neighborhood said they were rattled by the reported clown attack.
“I did not think it was here, but it goes to show things crazy and stupid can happen everywhere,” Tombi Williams, a mother of two who lives in the neighborhood, told the NBC affiliate in Columbus.
Down south, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office had extra officers patrolling in and around the Fleetwood Manor apartment complex, where they’d gotten reports of “recent clown activity.”
Numerous residents, including some children, have told police that on Aug. 21 they saw the clowns skulking around the woods and flashing green laser lights.
Some of the kids told investigators the clowns showed them “large amounts of money,” according to an investigative report.
But authorities found nothing suspicious in the abandoned house and have not yet cuffed any clowns.
