Clown Scare Spreads to Australia: Police Will Not Tolerate Pranks

Victoria, Australia – Creepy clown antics in the US has reached Australian shores. Authorities gave a stern warning after the initial sightings. On the Victoria Police Facebook page, they said that they are aware of the pranks of individuals scaring people wearing a clown costume.

Victoria Police statement read. “The clown purge appears to be a copycat of incidents being seen in the USA recently.  Any intimidating and threatening as well as anti-social behaviours will not be tolerated and will be investigated by Police.”

Campbelltown, Sydney also reported sightings in the area

In a Facebook post, Clown Nation Perth gave a threat that the Clowns are coming to the area.

The post said: “You will start seeing clown sightings soon. We have been preparing for a while now”

Australians showed their intolerance for such antics by setting up Facebook pages that focuses on “clown hunting”.

Where the it all Started

The creepy clown trend started in the US. Greenville, South Carolina recorded the first sighting of the creepy clown. Reports also indicate that these clowns were trying to lure children into the woods.

The antics soon spread to other states which include Alabama, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Oregon. Police forces from involved states have been on the lookout for these creepy clowns. Central Point Police in Oregon urged those people doing these pranks to “quit clowning around”.

#ClownLivesMatter

Meanwhile, professional clowns have organized a “#ClownLivesMatter” in the wake of the creepy clown scare sweeping the US. The group said that those pranksters in clown costumes were taking a “good, clean, wholesome art form and distorting it”.

A #ClownLivesMatter protest is set to take place in Tucson, Arizona next week. The professional clowns would march to remind everyone that the real clown spreads happiness and not fear. “This is a peaceful way to show clowns are not psycho killers. We want the public to feel safe and not be afraid. So come out, bring the family, meet a clown and get a hug!”

 

 

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Americans Flee Coast as Hurricane Matthew Approaches US

President Barack Obama and state governors advised millions to evacuate or brace for a possibly destructive Hurricane Matthew. Residents near the southeast US coast on Wednesday stocked up on groceries, lined up for gasoline and took off inland.

Matthew, considered the strongest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade, battered the Bahamas and heads directly for the United States. The US National Hurricane Center said that it would likely hit Florida with heavy rain, powerful winds and storm surges on Thursday.

Obama emphasized in a briefing with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that if there’s an evacuation order in their community, people should take it seriously.

FEMA has placed commodities and other supplies in Albany, Georgia and at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. They also positioned personnel to emergency operation centers in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina.

According to the Miami-based hurricane center, Matthew is a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of about 115 miles per hour on Wednesday night. They added that it was too early to forecast where the hurricane was expected to do the most damage.

Emergency measures

In Florida, Governor Rick Scott appealed to those areas at risk to evacuate as soon as possible. The inhabitants may start leaving even if orders had not yet been issued.

Scott also called for Obama to declare a pre-landfall emergency for Florida. This would bring federal resources such as water, food and tarps, and would augment an already active force of 1,500 National Guard members with an additional 1,500.

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal’s office said he extended a state of emergency proclamation to include 17 additional counties. This brings the total to 30 counties.

Medical staff cleared at least four hospitals as evacuations were proceeding in about a dozen of Florida’s coastal counties, Scott said.

Authorites expect the initial effects of the storm on Saturday morning in South Carolina. At this time drivers at the state already report gridlocks and long delays.

On social media, Floridians said they were stocking up on groceries and setting up their homes with hurricane shutters.

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Six Year Old Boy Wounded in S.C. Schoolyard Shooting Dies

Jacob Hall, the six year old victim of a schoolyard shooting in South Carolina died on Saturday, a coroner said. Jacob was fatally wounded after a 14-year-old boy opened fire at the school grounds. The incident happened moments after the teenager killed his own father.

According to a family member, Jacob sustained injuries which ripped his femoral artery causing blood loss. Because Jacob loss so much blood, it led to major brain injury, and had been on life support.

Greg Shore, the Anderson County Coroner at a Greenville hospital said on a telephone interview, “Unfortunately he’s lost the battle, at 12:56 p.m. today”. The body of the boy will be transferred for an autopsy on Sunday.

The deadly shooting happened on Wednesday at Townville Elementary School in Townville, South Carolina.

Authorities said the 14 year old boy first shot and killed his 47 year old father, Jeffrey Osborne. Osborne was shot while watching television in their home, about 2 miles (3km) from the school. The teenager then drove the pickup truck then apparently crashed into the fence and opened fire on the school. He also shot Jacob, another 6 year old boy and a teacher.

Closed door hearing

The teenager was charged on Friday with one count of murder and three counts of attempted murder. The 10th Judicial Circuit court will handle the case in closed doors because the suspect is a juvenile.

Authorities are still looking for motives and links in the shooting since the suspect is home-schooled.

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Teen Opens Fire at South Carolina School After Killing Father

A fourteen-year-old boy killed his father then opened fire at a school playground in South Carolina on Wednesday, authorities said. The shooter wounded two students and a teacher.

Police accused the teen, whose name was not released, of fatally shooting Jeffrey DeWitt Osborne, his 47-year-old father. He then drove a pick up truck to Townville Elementary School.

Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore said the suspect was crying and upset when he called his grandmother’s cellphone at 1:44pm. According to the grandparents, they could not make out what he was saying so they went to the teenager’s house, which was just a hundred yards away. That’s when they discovered that their son had been shot and their grandson was gone.

Authorities received a 911 call from Townville Elementary School about a minute later.

The shooter drove a vehicle into the school parking lot and instantly started firing the moment he got out, Sheriff John Skipper said.

Tackled by firefighter

Volunteer firefighter Jamie Brock then stopped the teenager as he shot at the school.
Brock pinned down the teen while school staff led children to safety, Anderson County emergency services director Taylor Jones said.

The shooter never entered the building as police arrived within minutes to take the suspect into custody.

Immediately after the shooting, police evacuated the students from the school under armed guard. A bus took them to their waiting parents in a nearby church.

The motive of the shooting is unknown but authorities ruled out race as both the shooter and the victims were white.

A six year-old boy who was shot in the foot and a female teacher who had a shoulder wound were treated and released, said AnMed Health Medical Center Ross Norton. However, another six year-old boy, Jacob Hall, who was shot in the leg, remained in critical condition.

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