Rocky Hill Cops: 'Scary Clown' Rumors Circulate Around Parked Van

ROCKY HILL, CT — A van parked legally and innocently on the side of a public street turned into the latest instance of "scary clown" hysteria, police said.

On Tuesday at 7:04 p.m., Rocky Hill police responded to Boulder Drive for a report of a "suspicious van" parked on the street.

The van was registered and legally parked, police said.

Police said they tracked down the owner, who explained that he parked the van on Boulder Drive while he was borrowing the vehicle of a friend who lives on the street.

The owner eventually retrieved his van and left the area, police said.

But it did not end there. Police said shortly after, they began getting calls regarding comments made on social media that clowns were seen entering and exiting the van.

Police then determined it was a prank.

The prank extended to the Whitewood Drive, police said.

Reports of "scary clown" sightings have been running rampant around the area. Rumors about people dressed as clowns committing crimes or engaging in other shenanigans begin on social media and then run absolutely amok throughout communities, law enforcement official are saying.

For example, this week, hundreds of University of Connecticut studdents, armed with golf clubs and hockey sticks, took to the streets around campus and raided a local cemetery looking for clowns reportedly in the area, police said.

Photo credit: NJ state police