Clown sightings reach York College

The phenomenon of sightings and reports to police across the country of clowns standing along wood-lined roads, near schools and in parking lots reached York County on Tuesday.

Since the summer, police departments from North Carolina to Georgia to Pennsylvania have received calls of people spotting clowns, and in some cases, children being lured into woods by clowns.

Pa. clown sightings: Police responding to another possible incident

For the last several days, students at York College have reported seeing people dressed as clowns, both on campus and off, sometimes standing on city street corners.

York College sent out a safety alert to the campus, notifying the school that the campus safety department had responded to eight different clown reports since Sept. 24. One turned out to be a rumor; all have been unsubstantiated.

"While it is important to understand that these reports involve mostly copycat thrill seekers, it is possible someone will use this as an opportunity to commit a crime in the future," the alert said.

One anonymous tip reported on Monday that there was a car full of clowns driving on the west end of York College's campus. Those clowns were possibly armed with weapons, according to the tip.

Officers patrolling that side of the campus did not see any suspicious vehicles or anyone dressed up as clowns.

Another day, a student reported seeing a clown standing on a street corner.

A search of that area was conducted, but "no clowns were seen," the college's campus safety department said in the alert.

Some law enforcement officials in other states have dubbed the reports as pranks, York College said in its alert.

While calls like these can be draining on police, it's still important to report the sightings so officers can confirm if there is a threat, the college alert said, advising students to avoid anyone dressed like a clown in odd areas.

The alert was meant as a way to control rumors on campus and to tell students that the safety department is tracking the reports, college spokeswoman Mary Dolheimer said Tuesday. "It's a safety concern."

Pa. clown sightings: Police investigating report of clowns yelling at children

As of Tuesday, York College campus safety said no crimes have been committed by anyone dressed as a clown on or nearby the college.

These reports have come across the country in recent months.

In Pottsville, police were investigating after clowns were seen yelling at children. A girl told a TV station that a clown had chased her and her friends and later threw a broken stick at them from the woods.

In South Carolina, police were investigating in August after reports that clowns were trying to lure children into the woods.

In all, campus safety told York College students about eight different reports about clowns since Sept. 24. Officers responding on the calls have mostly come up with nothing.

For example, students living on West Jackson Street reported on Saturday seeing a car full of clowns. York City Police responded along with campus officers to search the neighborhood. Nothing was found.

Either way, the college felt it necessary to tell the students about the issue, and to remind them about their safety.

"Folks that don't belong on campus don't belong on campus, whether they're wearing clown masks or not," Dolheimer said.

The following is the message sent from Campus Safety to the York College community

Safety Notice, 9/27/2016

Reports of “Clowns” in York

Campus Safety has received several reports of suspicious persons dressed as clowns in the past several days. As of now, we have not been able to substantiate a single report on or off campus.  No crimes have been committed by anyone dressed as a clown on or nearby our campus to our knowledge.

The “Creepy Clown” phenomena has spread throughout the country since this past summer. In multiple states, people have been reporting seeing clowns standing on the side of roads at night, in parking lots, outside schools and near the woods. Law Enforcement have dubbed these reports as nothing more than pranks meant to scare people. While it is important to understand that these reports involve mostly copy-cat thrill seekers, it is possible someone will use this as an opportunity to commit a crime in the future. While responding to these reports has been draining on law enforcement resources, it is still important to report these sightings so officers can confirm that there is no threat. It is advised to avoid anyone dressed like a clown in odd areas. With Halloween approaching, it is expected that sightings will increase. Campus Safety will alert the campus community in the event any real threat is confirmed.

Clown sightings reported to the Department of Campus Safety to date:

9/24/2016- Students residing in York City reported a car full of clowns driving down West Jackson Street. York City Police responded to the area and campus officers assisted in searching the neighborhood. No clowns were seen.

9/24/2016- A student reported there was a clown at the Student Union on campus. Officers investigated and were able to confirm this was just a rumor based on misinformation passed down from the earlier off campus report.

9/26/2016- An anonymous tip was received that there was a car full of clowns driving on west campus possibly with weapons. Officers patrolling on west campus along with the security officers in the west campus kiosks did not see anyone dressed as clowns or any suspicious vehicles.

9/26/2016- A student reported a clown standing on a corner near campus in York City. Officers responded to investigate. A search of the area was conducted but no clowns were seen.

9/27/2017- A picture of a clown was posted on social media that was supposedly taken somewhere on West Jackson Street. The picture is not clear enough to determine the location where it was taken.

9/27/2017- A student reported to a campus officer that he heard from friends that there was a clown somewhere on West Jackson Street over the weekend standing around by an alley and he took off running.

9/27/2017- Campus Safety was notified of a rumor that a clown had been seen in the library. No student or staff member reported actually seeing a clown in the library.

9/27/2017- A student reported that his friend had taken a picture of a clown outside Richland Hall the previous night.  The actual picture shown to Campus Safety was one that has been circulating around as evidence of clown sightings in other locations. We do not believe the picture was taken at Richland Hall.