The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff, Wire Reports

Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 06:34 PM

11-Year Old Florida Boy Attacked By Man In Clown Outfit

As Halloween nears, so do the clown pranks.

Florida deputies have issued a warning after an 11-year-old boy in Volusia County was nearly attacked by a man dressed as a clown, WESH 2 reported.

“Warning to evil clowns and anyone considering creepy clown activity: We will not be there to save you if your intended target defends himself or herself, and you may face other penalties as well,” the sheriff’s office said, according to WESH 2.

The warning comes after the boy, whose name has not been released, first told a school crossing guard and his teachers that he was riding his bicycle near Pine Ridge High School in Florida when a man dressed as a clown jumped out from behind bushes to scare him. The boy said he then hit the clown “multiple times” with a metal “selfie-stick” because he thought the clown was going to attack him, WESH 2 reported.

The boy hit the clown out of self-defense, he later told deputies.

The clown allegedly tried to grab the boy before chasing him. Eventually the clown retreated and returned to hide in the bushes, the boy told deputies.

The clown’s identity is currently unknown.