After recent reports from the University of Iowa Police Department of clown sightings in Iowa, people around Iowa City have been on edge.

Clown sightings and threats have been floating around the country and are now starting to arise in Iowa. Reports of clown sightings have been made by a twitter account @IowaClowns, which is an unverified source. There have also been reports of clowns wandering around City High and West High. Many of these clown sighting reports are made on social media, making it difficult for authorities to distinguish the actual reports from the hoaxes.

“It’s just stupid,” Hailey Burgon ’18 said. “I don’t think these clowns are any harm to people, but someone’s going to get hurt eventually.”

Police, citizens, and students around the country have been working to figure out if the clowns pose an actual threat to the population, or if they are just trying to scare people.

“The Department of Public Safety is taking all reports seriously, and at this time there is no threat to the University Campus or its students,” the University of Iowa Police stated. 

Students at City High school are familiar with the clown epidemic and believe that many of the sightings of clowns are social media hoaxes. Saye Traore ‘20 believes that others should be worrying about more important problems going on in the world, rather than wasting time on the clown crazes.

“I heard about the clown situation from my friends who were freaking out about it, and I saw it on social media a lot,” Traore says. “There are more important issues going on in the world right now that people should be worried about. I don’t think the clowns are a threat to the community, it’s all just a social media craze.”

This clown craze has led to twelve arrests in multiple states for false reports, threats, or chasing people. The death of 16-year-old Christian Torres in Reading, Pennsylvania has been associated with these hoaxes.