Waukegan police report that on October 4th, 2016 at 1:50pm officers from the Patrol Division responded to Greenwood School, 1919 North Avenue, for a clown sighting. Children at recess reported to staff that three individuals dressed in clown masks stood at the edge of the property and taunted them. The children reported that one of them had a knife, one had a briefcase, and one had a gun “in his pocket”. There was no confirmation whether the knife was real or whether the one clown was armed with an actual handgun.
The school was briefly placed on lockdown until officers could check the immediate area. The children also reported that the trio threatened to return on Friday to “kill them” before they left in a vehicle — possibly a black SUV.
The gender and race of the suspects is unknown. At the time of the release, the Waukegan Police Department reported they did not have any video or photographic evidence of the incident
The Waukegan Police Department announced they will be providing extra watches during patrol shifts at all area schools for the time being.
Nick Alajakas, spokesman for Waukegan Community Unit School District 60, posted on the school’s and district’s official website that students reported seeing “three people dressed as clowns, carrying weapons at a home near the school during recess. Waukegan police were called to the school to investigate the incident, and provide increased patrols during dismissal.
Round Lake police department also report in a statement on their official Facebook page that “The Round Lake Police Department and School District 116 have learned of social media postings … that indicate the [sic] (a) clown may visit the Round Lake High School campus. While we believe this posting is part of a prank, we do thoroughly investigate all potential safety concerns,” the statement said.
Police said the incident is being taken seriously and is being investigated by the Criminal Investigations Division (CID). Police urge anyone that has information of this incident to call the CID “Tip-Line” at 847-360-9001.
Get updates from The Cardinal CRIME BLOG ‘Plus’ on Facebook. Just ‘LIKE’ the ‘Arlington Cardinal Crime & Forensics’ Page (become a fan of our page). The updates cover all posts in the 24/7 Crime Alerts! and sub-categories. See all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages at Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …
Help fund The Cardinal Arlingtoncardinal.com/sponsor