By Police1 Staff
LITITZ BOROUGH, Pa. — Police in Lititz Borough came upon a terrifying discovery over the weekend: red balloons tied to sewer gates all over town.
The police department wrote on Facebook Tuesday that someone “took it upon themselves to promote” the upcoming release of the child-killing clown movie “It.”
“We give points for creativity, however we want the local prankster to know that we were completely terrified as we removed these balloons from the grates and we respectfully request they do not do that again,” the department joked.
The titular character of the movie, adapted from a Stephen King novel, is a clown who lures children down into the sewers with red balloons.
Sgt. Stephen Detz told CBS that while they don’t have an accurate balloon count, he knows it’s “definitely above 20.”
Detz said while there are fans of the movie in the department and they find the prank funny, he would like the pranksters to stop.
“I mean, somebody eventually has to clean it up, obviously,” he said. “We’ve removed several, but there are still a lot more out there.”
Last year, clowns terrorized multiple cities in several different states. At least a dozen people were arrested in Georgia, Alabama and Virginia for taking part in the stunts or making false reports. In a recent bulletin by the Pennsylvania State Police, authorities warned that similar clown sightings could happen because of the Sept. 8 release of the “It” movie.
Detz mentioned to CBS that while wearing a clown costume isn’t a crime, harassing and assaulting people while wearing the costume is.
“They should respect others boundaries,” he said. If they are showing support for a movie that’s not a problem. It’s when they start trying to harass or annoy people with their presence.”
https://www.facebook.com/LititzBoroughPoliceDepartment/posts/2065659250126418