Clowns: No Laughing Matter These Days

By Danni Dunlop Clowns: one of the most popular topic being talked about in Connecticut right now.  Clowns are being spotted all over casually walking the streets, through the woods and even right outside multiple school grounds. According to NBC Connecticut News, this “trend has been growing since August when there were sightings in South Carolina of clowns creeping in the woods and children reported the clowns showed them money and tried to lure them into the woods.” Although clowns are supposed to be silly and people normally laugh with them, this issue is not something to be laughing about. A letter sent out by Superintendent, Hamlet Hernandez on Friday, reassured parents that the Branford School District is aware of what is going on involving these clowns. He encourages that parents and students report any suspicious activity that they see to school officials.To read the parent letter from Hernandez, click here. As all clowns look alike, there is no way in telling the difference between a clown that is not harmful and a sinister clown.  There’s no way in telling the difference between a clown who just wants to scare people for fun and a clown that is truly out to hurt people. Police in several communities and in the state have warned the would-be clown pranksters that there could be criminal consequences to their actions. There are creepy clown threats roaming all over social media in Connecticut too.  There’s even already an Instagram account made specifically for “Branford Clowns.”  Fortunately, there hasn’t been any posts or threats made on the account yet.  Although most threats elsewhere had already been ruled not credible by local police departments, people should still be aware, police and school officials said.