Charly Haley

chaley@dmreg.com

A man dressed as a clown was arrested Tuesday afternoon after he reportedly chased two people with a metal baseball bat, police said.

Jacob Steil, 18, of West Des Moines is facing two counts of assault with a weapon, Urbandale Police Sgt. Chad Underwood said.

Shortly before 12:30 p.m., Urbandale Police responded to the 4500 block of Northwest Urbandale Drive after receiving multiple calls about a man, possibly armed with a machete, who was wearing a clown mask and chasing two people.

When police arrived on scene, they talked with a witness who identified Steil as the suspect. Police found a metal baseball bat and a clown mask at the scene, Underwood said.

Police determined that Steil had chased two people with the bat, he said.

No injuries were reported.

Police believe Steil did not know the victims, and the encounter appears to be random, Underwood said.

Steil was arrested at the scene and is being held the Polk County Jail on a $4,000 bond.

Steil is the first suspect dressed as a clown that Urbandale Police have encountered, Underwood said. But nationwide, people dressed as clowns have been making sporadic threats in recent weeks.

Creepy clowns in Iowa: What you need to know

In Des Moines, there have been a couple of threats, but they have been determined to be hoaxes.

Last week, two 14-year-old boys showed up at Lincoln High School wearing clown masks to scare friends, Des Moines Police said. This was a day after a false threat against Harding Middle School was posted on Instagram, which included a photo of a clown.

No criminal charges were filed in either case.

Des Moines schools have since urged parents to talk to their children about the clown trend and the risks associated with making such threats.