Clowns fool their way through Hopkins

Reports of clowns across the nation has caused widespread paranoia and fear the past few weeks and recently sightings have been reported here in Hopkins.

Most officials say that these clown sightings are simply rumors spread by social media, which is true in most cases. For example, a 15 year old girl from Bloomington created a fake Facebook account titled ‘Kroacky Klown’ and posted: “Should I come to Hopkins and kill?”

Many parents and kids saw this and were rightfully concerned, however the girl only created the account to scare her boyfriend. Hopkins police, on the other hand, saw it as a threat to the community and arrested the teenage girl for ‘malicious threats.’

Although most of these threats are simply rumors, days ago, Kirsten Magaard and Makenzie Merritt, seniors, came in contact with a clown first-hand.

“We were going to open pitching at Alice Smith, but the doors were locked so I went back to my car. When I pulled out to leave, a clown came from the parking lot and ran in front of me,” Magaard said.

The supposed clown did not pursue Magaard or Merritt, but they were very shocked and a wave of fear washed over them upon seeing this clown.

“I slowed down because I didn’t want to hit it and then drove straight home,” Magaard said.

Maggie Cleary, senior, experienced a similar clown encounter that same night.

“There was a clown right outside my house in my neighborhood. I didn’t see it myself, but my neighbors saw it and I was terrified,” Cleary said.

Cleary jokingly admitted that if she ever did see a clown in person, it wouldn’t be laughing much longer.

“I don’t think [the clowns] have actually done anything, but I think they’re terrifying and they should be gone,” Cleary said. “If I was in a car I probably wouldn’t hesitate to hit it full speed because clowns terrify me.”