Dan D'Ambrosio

Free Press Staff Writer

A student at the Howard Center's Jean Garvin School in Williston was cited Wednesday as a juvenile on suspicion of disorderly conduct and false public alarm after he approached a classroom wearing a clown mask and banged on the windows, Williston police say.

Officer Harley Pecor said one of the students in the classroom ran out in fear, and the entire class and staff were panicked by the incident. Pecor said it was the first such incident Williston police have investigated, but similar incidents are becoming more prevalent around the country.

Pecor said the juvenile faces stiff penalties if convicted, including up to 60 days in jail and $500 in fines for disorderly conduct; and as much as two years in prison and a fine of $5,000 for false public alarm.

School staff caught the juvenile after the incident, Pecor said.

"They realized who it was," she said. "He was known to them and owned up to it."

Jean Garvin School has been serving the "therapeutic and academic needs" of students ages 12-16 since 1997, according to the Howard Center's website. In 2008, the school expanded to accommodate students ages 12-18.

Wednesday's incident was the second involving the creepy clown phenomenon in as many days. Tuesday, police in St. Albans said two students at Bellows Free Academy-St. Albans had received text messages that clowns were coming to scare BFA and Missisquoi Valley Union students on Friday.

Detectives from St. Albans interviewed the message sender and said they found no credible threat.

This story was first posted online on Oct. 5, 2016.

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