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 In the latest incident, a person telephoned the Bakersfield Police
Department on Saturday night, reporting a clown armed with a
firearm, said watch commander Lieutenant Jason Matson.
"We've been having sightings all over the city," Matson said. "They
range from anywhere from a guy carrying a gun to a guy carrying a
knife running up to houses."
The Bakersfield Californian newspaper reported earlier in the week
that at least some of the reports were hoaxes. Matson said he did
not know whether the incidents were pranks.
At least one of the reports was not a hoax - police arrested a teen
on Friday who had dressed up as a clown and was chasing children on
the west side of town, Matson said. The juvenile, whose name was not
released, said he was doing it to perpetrate a hoax he had seen
online.
He was arrested on suspicion of annoying a minor and booked into the
Kern County Juvenile Hall, Bakersfield police said in a news
release.
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A child who had been chased "was clearly scared," the release said.
(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Calif.; editing by
Matthew Lewis)
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