A southwest Iowa woman was arrested early this morning for using 911 to report clown sightings.
The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports 36-year-old Jennifer Brennan, of Harlan, called 911 in Shelby County at around 4:15-a.m. to report clowns were seen near the Avoca Swimming Pool and Avoca High School.
Deputies located the woman at her place of employment in Avoca about 30-minutes later, and arrested her for calling 911 to report a non-emergency. Social media sites have been inundated with mostly unsubstantiated, nationwide reports of scary clown sightings, following posts about clowns intending to harm people.
The alleged clown threats and incidents began to occur after it was announced a remake of the 1990 horror film “It,” was being made. The original movie was based on a 1987 Stephen King novel that increased the public’s fear of clowns.
(Reporting by Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic)