Creepy Clowns in Michigan Cause Terror, Chaos and Even a Last Laugh

METRO DETROIT, MI — There’s a certain irony that clowns — who are supposed to make people laugh — have put residents of Metro Detroit and across the country so on edge. But a spate of creepy clown reports — from innocuous incidents like one in Clinton Township where a clown simply waved at passersby, to criminal acts by suspects wearing clown masks, to a terrifying incident for two Macomb County girls who were chased by a pair of clowns — are doing just that.

The most recent incident, in Roseville Thursday night, resulted in the arrest of two people who reportedly told police they “thought it was funny to terrorize unsuspecting pedestrians.” The two, Jaime Salinis and Elandra Sledge, both 18-year-olds from Roseville, were arraigned Friday on misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges in Roseville’s 39th District Court, where bond was set at $10,000 each.

The incident started about 9 p.m. when two 14-year-old girls were walking in the 18000 block of Minnesota Street when the two 18-year-olds jumped out of the car and began screaming at and chasing them.

Police Chief James Berlin told WWJ Radio they were “dressed in full clown regalia.” Their victims were hysterical, he said, but managed to provide descriptions of the clowns. Berlin described them as “idiots” and “morons.”

• Creepy Clown Sighting in Clinton Township: What’s Behind the Craze

Metro Detroit’s first reported creepy clown sighting was in Clinton Township over the weekend when a video was posted on Twitter that showed a clown standing at a car wash waving at motorists. Police said he wasn’t doing anything illegal, and they’re not pursuing it.

Since then, the creepy clown craze seems to have taken hold with the ferocity of the Pokémon Go craze.

In Troy a day after the Clinton Township incident, police lured a suspect wearing a clown suit and wielding a baseball on school property.

“The clowns have their own Twitter accounts so we decided to tweet with them,” Troy Police Sgt. Meghan Lehman said. “Let them know they could be arrested if they are breaking any laws.”

• Creepy Clown Craze: Troy Police Warn Clown on School Property

At a news conference on another matter Wednesday, Detroit Police Chief James Craig spoke for police officers across the metro area when he said: “It’s not a joke. It's not funny. It’s creating fear in our neighborhoods.”

Clown with a Gun

The clown craze hasn’t escaped the notice of criminals, either. Police in Brownstown Township said a man wearing a clown mask pointed a gun at a Walgreens store Tuesday night and got away with about $400. Police don’t know if the Walgreens robbery is related to armed robberies at hotels in Livonia and Plymouth early Thursday morning by a man who was wearing either a clown or pumpkin mask. In all three cases, the suspect was driving a blue Chevrolet Impala.

• Gunman Wearing Clown Mask Robs Walgreens: Police

“He was wearing a clown mask and he had a handgun,” Livonia Police Capt. Robert Nenciarini told The Detroit News of the suspect who entered the lobby of the Embassy Suites, 19525 Victor Parkway, at about 7:10 a.m. Thursday. “He held up one or two patrons and the desk clerk in the lobby.”

Then, police said, the pumpkin-mask-wearing suspect went to the Days Inn in Plymouth, but was unsuccessful, WJBK-TV reported. Robberies at a BP gas station and Domino’s Pizza restaurant in Ann Arbor Thursday may also be related, WDIV-TV reported.

Other creepy clown incidents have occurred in Sterling Heights, where a 7-year-old boy told police he was approached by a man in a clown suit about 6:45 p.m. Tuesday on Normandy Street. The suspect reportedly grabbed the boy’s arm and laid a plastic butter knife across it, scratching it, Sterling Heights Police Lt. James Belmonte told the Free Press.

Another incident in Sterling Heights happened around 8:20 p.m. near Lowell and Boulder drives. Two women told police that three baseball bat-wielding males in clown masks approached them from behind, yelled, screamed and rattled a fence with the bats.

Belmonte told the Free Press his office has been besieged with calls from residents asking about the proper response to the clown craze. The number of calls, he said, is “off the hook.” Phenomena like this can “get out of hand, with somebody getting hurt.”

“Clown Free Zone”

After the incident at Troy Athens High School, district officials said in an email to parents that they shouldn’t panic, but that they should talk to their children about the dangers such pranks can present. Troy schools have been declared “a clown free zone”

• From Laughing to Screaming: The History of Clowns and Terror

“This was an isolated incident and there have been no further reports of any clown 'pranks,' despite what your older children may have seen on social media. I am sharing this now with the entire district so that parents of students at the other schools can be informed and well as have a conversation with their older students about the danger of copycat behavior,” Kerry Birmingham, director of communications and strategic initiatives, wrote in the letter.

“It may seem funny or harmless to teens but these costumes often include 'weapons' and can be very frightening to those approached. Unfortunately, communities around the country are seeing increased incidents of this nature and we would like to prevent any further disturbances here in Troy. I would also ask that you ask your children not to retweet or share erroneous information that may unnecessarily frighten others.”

Clown Chaos at MSU

Another clown hoax on the Michigan State University campus made Jim Harbaugh, head football coach at MSU’s in-state rival, the University of Michigan, the butt of a joke. A photo of a clown holding balloons outside a dormitory surfaced on social media Wednesday, setting off a mob of clown hunters “in their underwear with golf clubs and broomstick,” according to a tweet by MSU student Ian McGuire.

The sighting turned out to be a hoax and the work of someone with a knack for Photoshop, Capt. Doug Monette, a spokesman for the university’s police department, told the Free Press.

“I was kind of bored, and, a lot of time, I Photoshop pictures and send them to my friends,” student Tia Trudgeon, who altered the photo, told the newspaper. “Pretty much everything I post on social media is a joke.”

Trudgeon said she tried to explain she had faked the photo, but by the time she made it to the courtyard of her dorm, the clown hunters were already out in force.

While the hoax may not have been funny, there was no disputing the humor in a tweet from East Lansing hangout Harper’s Restaurant and Brewpub.

Photo by William Gray via Flickr Commons