Creepy Clowns Check-In

The actual Whataburger in Albuquerque, New Mexico, terrorized by a "creepy clown."

It is time to do a little roundup of recent clown stories.

Albuquerque Police say they arrested a "creepy clown" that was terrorizing customers at a local Whataburger.

On Monday night, August 6, 2018, police arrested 32-year-old Stephen Ames, who was reported to be wearing a clown mask and waving a machete at customers in the parking lot of the Whataburger at the intersection of Carlisle and Claremont.

According to a criminal complaint, the manager of the Whataburger told Ames to leave after he reportedly spent 20 minutes in the restaurant’s restroom. Once outside, the manager said Ames took out the machete from its sheath and started banging it against his knee. Fearing an attack, police say the manager then locked the doors of the restaurant.

The original Whataburgers used a "W" in their roof design.

They evolved, by 1961, to some locations with the W-less look, while still retaining the A-frame look.

Police say Ames then approached cars that were stopped at a nearby traffic signal. While wearing the clown mask, police say Ames blew kisses at passengers, then approached a car to write the words “kill you” on a window. Before the car could leave, police say Ames shouted “I will f**k you up” at the occupants.

When police arrived at the scene, they say they encountered Ames with the clown mask on, thrusting his hips in a sexual manner toward the Whataburger restaurant. Ames was taken into custody without further incident. Police say they found a filled heroin needle in Ames’ possession, along with the machete.

h/t AWG

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Other incidents...

On July 10, 2018, a gunman involved in a robbery reportedly wearing a golden "angry clown" mask shot a Waffle House patron in Atlanta, Georgia.

Sightings of a Phantom Clown described variously with a "clown mask," and/or with "red hair and red pants," near the Hudson Falls Primary School, occurred on May 29, 2018.  The Post-Star (Glens Falls, NY) 5-31-18, pg. 3, notes, "Police looking into 'clown' sighting near Kingsbury school."

At the Little Caesars pizza shop in Holly Hill, Florida, around 11:50 pm on May 26, 2018, a "clown" attacked an employee closing up the store. The "clown" used a wooden post. The employee pulled out his concealed weapon and shot the attacker dead.

Two men wearing clown masks held up a Queens, New York, Walgreen's at gunpoint on May 22, 2018.

On April 11, 2018, there was a Beverly Hills, California incident involving a clown, kids, and a machete. NBC Los Angeles, on April 11, 2018, at 10:19 pm PDT, updated their story:  "A man in a clown mask spooked a Beverly Hills neighborhood Wednesday when he reportedly wielded a machete at children."

On April 9, 2018, WPRI in Warwick, Rhode Island, reported, "Clown-masked robber targets local Dunkin' Donuts."

Also...

See "Phantom Clowns: Classified," for the definition and differences between Phantom Clowns, Killer Clowns, and Stalking Clowns.

See also "Creepy Clowns" and the NY Post's historical article from 2016.