Jokers Beware: Florida Parents to Carry Guns amid ‘Creepy’ Clown Problem

Some Florida parents have made clear they will be responding to the “creepy” clown problem by carrying guns as they take their children trick-or-treating.

Florida Today (FT) quotes Brevard County’s Kimberly Kersey, who made clear her plans to be armed while she takes her sons through the neighborhood. She said, “I’ll be carrying for sure, I’m not leaving to chance. I’m terrified of clowns already and if one messes with me or my kids it’ll be to the hospital or morgue they go.”

Titusville’s Pam Metz said, “Since I have no gun, I will be carrying a bat around on Halloween night.”

The decision to arm up comes in response to clown suspects terrorizing people in Brevard County.

An incident reported on October 15 entailed “someone disguised as a clown in north Melbourne threatening victims with a large bat, stick or ax.” The suspect allegedly confronted people, then charged at them and threatened to kill them. Police were called for a clown acting similarly on October 20. In both instances, the suspect(s) fled the scene before officers arrived.

FT stresses that the two October incidents were only the latest in a string of others:

• Three suspects wearing clown makeup attempted to rob a woman in Cocoa in January. They were unsuccessful.
• A woman walking her dog in Palm Bay saw two clowns staring at her from a wooded area.
• Palm Bay police reported that they received at least four more clown-related emergency calls.

Fox News/AP reports that some Brevard County law enforcement personnel are worried that people who innocently dress as clowns Monday night might get hurt. Palm Bay police Lt. Mike Banish said, “The problem is that someone dressed like a clown could scare someone and there’s a possibility, a possibility you could end up with someone getting shot. A person could think that they’re about to get robbed.”

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of “Bullets with AWR Hawkins,” a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.