Reports of menacing clowns roaming Bakersfield continued over the weekend, the latest involving reports of one of them wielding a gun before disappearing into the night, police said.

Authorities responded to a call about 8 p.m. Saturday of a person wearing a clown suit and holding a gun near Valhalla Drive and Belle Terrace, the Bakersfield Californian reported.

When officers arrived, there was no clown in sight, but the call was only the latest in an apparent days-long campaign of creep being carried out across the city where police have received reports of clowns standing in public holding weapons, including machetes and baseball bats.

Last week, one teen was arrested on suspicion of annoying a minor after taking the clown prank too far. Police say he dressed as a clown and chased other teens, albeit without a weapon, leaving one of them “visibly shaken.”


The prankster allegedly admitted to copying the likeness of the “Wasco Clown” -- so named for the small San Joaquin Valley town. But in Wasco, the clown is part of a husband and wife art project, photos of which have gone viral on social media.

Bakersfield Police Sgt. Joseph Grubbs told The Times last week that police are taking the clown reports seriously because the situation could turn into something more dangerous.

Bakersfield police have fielded nearly 20 reports of weapon-wielding clowns in the last couple weeks.

“We will make arrests on this,” Grubbs said. “We want this to stop.”


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