A local student, seemingly following the national trend of dressing like a clown to startle innocent bystanders, was caught and reprimanded by police Wednesday.
Rob Crouse, director of media relations at Westminster College, said clown sightings on campus began earlier this week.
"Monday night, two of our students came into the city and noticed a white, two-door truck with two men (each) wearing a clown mask," he said.
A report made later to campus security stated one of the masked men tried to enter a student's locked vehicle.
Westminster faculty responded to the incident by sending a mass email to the student body, warning them to beware of clowns scaring students on campus.
"The email had gone out to remind students and other members of the campus of the measures to take to ensure safety," Crouse said. "There were also reports at the William Woods campus of the same thing happening."
He said the perpetrators were eventually identified.
A Westminster College student was eventually identified and interviewed by Fulton police and warned.
Clown sightings have recently been reported in several states. In August, "suspicious" clowns were reported attempting to lure children into woods in Greenville, South Carolina. Since then, other reports have been made in Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and more states. Nine people were arrested in Alabama. A man dressed as a clown lurking in trees by an apartment complex in Middlesboro, Kentucky, also was arrested.
The reports received by law officials nationwide involved suspects dressing as clowns and following people on foot.
Lt. Clay Chism of the Callaway County Sheriff's Office said there are many reasons people may be clowning around in the community.
"I think there's an array of reasons," he said. "With clowns getting so much media attention, people have chosen to partake in the activities for various reasons."
Chism said the department treats the clowns as they would any other suspicious report.
"We would not handle the clowns any differently than we handle any other call about a suspicious person," he said. "We'd respond, identify the person involved and assess their reasons for being there."
The student received a stern lecture from local law officials, Fulton Police Sgt. Bill Ladwig said.
"Police informed the student as to why sneaking up on people is a bad idea," he said. "It seemed like a prank gone awry. There was nothing, that we could discover, that rose to the level of a criminal offense."
For people who may consider pulling a similar prank, Ladwig said he advises pranksters to think twice.
"I wouldn't recommend putting on a mask at night and approaching anyone," he said. "It could have unintended consequences for the person who played the prank."
Why clowns?
According to Ryan Brunner, assistant professor of psychology at Westminster, scaring strangers in clown masks may be a behavior deeply rooted in the pranksters' need to control others.
"If you can make someone scream or be startled, you have control over them," he said. "That's what people want. Another motivator is the attention you get. Whenever someone scares people in public or exposes themselves, they are seeking a reaction."
Clowns are commonly feared for a few reasons, Brunner said.
"Clowns are doing something that humans find uncomfortable, which is hiding their faces," he said. "Also, compared to other masks where it's clear people have intentions to be scary, clown masks show laughing or positive emotions. The possible fakeness of the smiles are the reasons people find them unpleasant."
Brunner also said it is very important to not confuse simple discomfort with a psychological phobia.
"One of the things to be clear about is it is possible to have a phobia of clowns," he said. "However, more typically people have a fear. They find it unpleasant, like many do spiders and snakes, but it's not a phobia."
The clowning fad will probably pass soon, Brunner said.
"I definitely think it will blow over quickly," he added. "It's attention grabbing because it's different than a typical mugging. It's a little bit sensational."
Clarification: Tiffany Smith, director of Content and Publicity at William Woods University, reported Thursday no clown sightings have been reported at that campus. A Westminster College student said to have impersonated a clown was identified and warned by Fulton police recently.