Mask and toy gun seized from teen in Nazareth Illit
Photo: Israel Police
The show goes on: Creepy clowns continue plaguing Israel
Jerusalem teens caught with masks and weapons; two minors in the Sharon region armed themselves after one was marked on day's 'victims list'; 13-year-old in Ramat Hasharon detained with clown mask and baseball bat.
The creepy clowns continue plaguing Israel. The Jerusalem Police detained for questioning two teenagers on Thursday night who were caught with masks and weapons.
One of them, a 15-year-old boy, was caught with a mask and a plastic ax in northern Jerusalem, while in the south of the capital a 16-year-old boy was caught with a knife. The latter teen claimed he was carrying the knife to defend himself from clowns. The parents of both teens were summoned by the police.
Mask and plastic ax seized from teen in Jerusalem (Photo: Israel Police)
Also on Thursday night, two teens aged 14 and 15 armed with weapons were caught in the central Sharon region.
Initial investigation found one of the teens was tagged in a list of "The Day's Victims" on an Instagram page for 'clowns.' The teen was afraid to leave his home alone, so he and his friend armed themselves with weapons. The two minors were detained for questioning.
Weapons seized from two minors afraid of clowns (Photo: Israel Police)
In Nazareth Illit, police and city patrolmen noticed a group of teens who were acting suspiciously near the local country club at around 10pm Thursday. One of them, a 14 year old, was hiding in the bushes. A search of his belongings found a mask and a toy plastic gun.
Mask and toy gun seized from teen in Nazareth Illit (Photo: Israel Police)
The teen was detained for questioning and his parents were called to the scene. After he was questioned under caution, he was released to his home and put on a five-day house arrest.
In Ramat Hasharon, a 13-year-old boy was detained for questioning after putting on a clown mask and wandering around with a baseball bat. Other teenagers who were with him and also wearing clown masks were able to escape.
In Safed, a 17-year-old teenage boy armed with a bat and plastic guns was detained for questioning. He claimed he was looking for clowns.
Police have called on parents to become more involved, check their children's cellphones and, if necessary, remove them from social media pages linked with the creepy clowns phenomenon.
"Israel Police activity against the criminal and wrong trend—in which teenagers wander the streets wearing clown masks, sowing fear among the public, and disrupting daily lives—continues at all times," police said in a statement.
"The police urge teenagers and young people not to take part in these unlawful acts... Police also call on the public not to take the law into their own hands and not to hurt teenagers."
