Ben Axelson | baxelson@ nyup.com

Creepy clowns in Upstate NY

As a wave of "creepy clown" incidents spread fear across the country this Halloween season, several sightings and police reports have begun to pop up in Upstate NY.



The clowns often are simply seen standing around, or looking at people, though there have been some reports of them frightening children. Police are investigating or have investigated all of the incidents.



In other parts of the country, some clowns have been reported carrying weapons or attempting to lure children into the woods.



Take a look at every "creepy clown" incident reported to police in Upstate NY so far.

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Batavia

A child reported seeing a clown in the windows of a vacant building in Batavia. Police searched the building and found no credible threat to the public, according to WHEC-TV.

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UPDATE: Poughkeepsie police charged a 13-year-old with making terroristic threats against the school.



A Facebook profile with a creepy clown as the profile photo made death threats against middle school students in Poughkeepsie. The page posted the message, "If you want to die come to PMS on Friday."

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Syracuse University

Rumors circulated in the first week of October of so called "creepy clowns" on Syracuse University's campus. Police investigated and found no evidence of any clown activity, according to The Daily Orange.

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Ithaca

A report of a clown roaming the Ithaca College campus proved to be unsubstantiated. Police searched the area and did not find anyone, the Ithaca Voice reported.

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SUNY Cortland University Police were unable to locate a suspect who was reported wearing a clown costume on campus this week, the Cortland Voice reported. Sightings of the clown on Sunday evening were first spread on the social media app YikYak.

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Police in Endicott determined that a man wandering the village dressed like a clown was "just participating in all the hype," according to WBNG-TV. He was not ticketed.

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Canandaigua

A teen in a clown costume was walking around a rural street in Canandaigua and reported to police. Police said they spoke with the teen's parents, and that he was not ticketed, according to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

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Amsterdam

Police in Amsterdam received four separate complaints of a creepy clown on Wednesday, including one from a group of schoolchildren who said they were harassed, according to WNYT.com.

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Auburn

Police in Auburn had numerous calls about someone wearing creepy clown masks on Sept. 28, but determined that they were only rumors being circulated on social media.

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Binghamton High School

Binghamton Central School District officials notified parents Monday morning of possible "clown activity" around Binghamton High School during lunch. In the voice message that was sent through email, a person representing the district said officials are investigating social media postings about the activity while take extra precautions for students.

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Clifton Park

Two people reported a person wearing a frightening clown mask lurking outside the laundry room at at Fox Run Apartments in the last week of September. One of them called the police.

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Ellenville

Rumors of criminal activity being committed by a creepy clown in Ellenville proved unsubstantiated when investigated by police. Video of the clown posted on Bubbo Theclown's Facebook page seemed to show otherwise, the Times Herald Record reported.

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Greece

A person sent video to a TV station of a clown walking down West Ridge Road in Greece, near Rochester. The person who took the video told the TV station "waving at cars."

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Around 7 a.m. in the Sitterly Road area, a person in a clown costume was spotted near some children. This clown turned out to be a neighbor who was showing his Halloween costume to some friends in the last week of September. The clown, who only gave the name "Justin," called it a "misunderstanding."

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Police are investigating two clown sightings on September 27 and 28 in Herkimer. The clowns reportedly made eye contact with onlookers, but did not approach anyone. Police warned people not to approach the "killer clowns," and to report sightings to police, according to WKTV.

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Lakeville

Christopher Hooper was arrested after he allegedly edited a clown image into a photo of Vitale Park in Lakeville before posting it on his Facebook page. He warned people to keep their children out of the park, which caused "public harm" and adding to the growing clown hysteria, Livingston County Sheriff Thomas J. Dougherty said in a press release.

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North Tonawanda

A clown in a frightening mask was spotted near Meadow Drive and Erie Avenue, sparking multiple calls to police on September 28. The culprits later identified themselves, and said they were only trying to make a video making fun of the "clown epidemic."

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Shenendehowa Central Schools

Shenendehowa Central School District in the Capital Region was among the many schools that received a bomb threat posted in an online forum by the "creepy clowns." The Saratoga County Sheriff's Department investigated the bomb threat while classes continue to go on as usual "due to the non-specific nature of the threat," the district said in the statement.

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St. Lawrence County

The St. Lawrence County Sheriff's office is investigating claims that several social media accounts featuring creepy clown profile photos made threats against students at area school. Complaints were filed from Edwards-Knox, Potsdam and Hermon-DeKalb Central Schools, according to The Watertown Daily Times.

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In one of the most shocking clown incidents in Upstate NY so far, three people wearing clown costumes began approaching a 10-year-old boy as he walked to school on Sept. 29. The frightened boy fled and called 911. Several other children reported similar incidents.

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Warwick

S.S. Seward Institute in Orange County was locked down briefly on Oct. 4 after a report that a "creepy clown" was inside the school. Images of the clown appeared on social media, but investigators found nothing to substantiate the report.

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Haunted Upstate NY

Upstate NY has lots of haunted attractions where you can safely enjoy the Halloween season. Check out some spooky places to visit: