Scary Clown Latest - Gresham Teen Busted for Making Threats

A student in the Centennial School District is under arrest, charged with disorderly conduct after using social media to threaten that "killer clowns" would be at two schools in the district to harm students.

The student assured officers that he never intended to hurt anyone.

"Sometimes poor decisions, even when done in jest, have serious consequences," said Detective Adam Wright, who along with four other Gresham officers investigated multiple calls related to the post. "The perpetuation of threats, even when untrue, can unlawfully disrupt peoples' lives and can lead to arrest."

Gresham Police say that they are aware of multiple occurrences of reported clown sightings and "threats" involving clowns in East County. Officers have found that the vast majority are urban legend-type instances, largely misinformation being rapidly passed on by people using social media. A small portion of incidents have included officers contacting youths wearing masks. None of the cases have amounted to actual threats.

Police advise that they do not need to be notified of someone simply wearing a mask or dressing like a clown. With Halloween only three weeks away, in combination with all of the recent hype about clowns, the public can expect to see more people wearing masks and other costumes.

If a situation amounts to a greater public safety concern, people are asked to call nonemergency (503-823-3333) or 911 accordingly. Officers work closely with all Gresham area schools to investigate on-campus concerns to help ensure the safety of all students.

Earlier Thursday, a grandfather was arrested in Portland for wearing a clown mask and boxing gloves and shadowboxing outside of a middle school where he also allegedly threatened an assistant principal.

On Wednesday, several Oregon law enforcement agencies issued warnings about the clown sightings.

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