Police in North Bay, Ont., warn creepy clowns that they could be charged

NORTH BAY, Ont. – A northern Ontario police force is serving notice to people dressing up as creepy clowns.

North Bay police say while dressing as a clown isn’t illegal, officers can charge a person criminally if there are grounds to believe they committed acts of mischief, or threatened, assaulted, or harassed others.

They say two recent incidents prompted the release of the public notice on Thursday.

Investigators say they received a report Wednesday evening that a person dressed as a clown was crouching in the bushes and scaring three children on bicycles — but the suspect was gone by the time officers arrived.

And they say suspects had also left the scene when police investigated a complaint on Oct. 6 that three people dressed as clowns were behind a school and might be trying to scare children.

Creepy clown sightings, threats and arrests have been reported across North America and even reached the United Kingdom.