Name: Hour: AoW5. Hoax or threat? Clown sightings fuel panic nationwide Source: CBS News/October 8, 2016

Transcription

1 Directions: 1. Read the articles. 2. As you read, annotate the articles using a combination of the following system: a. Circle and define unfamiliar words, b. Underline/highlight important info, c. Use? and ask a question, d. Use! and show your reaction confusion/resolution, questions, and e. Draw arrows to connect ideas. 3. Identify after the articles. 4. Write a 1+ page reflection in your AoW section of your Writer s Notebook using ONE of the prompts provided. Hoax or threat? Clown sightings fuel panic nationwide Source: CBS News/October 8, 2016 There s been a wave of creepy clown sightings across the United States. Going back to late August, there have been dozens of reports of threatening clowns, largely centered around schools and colleges. Many have been dismissed by law enforcement as pranks, but more than a dozen people have been arrested in connection with the sightings. Whether they are pranks, threats or actual sightings, police and other officials have to take them seriously as a potential threat to safety. That s starting to drain resources from law enforcement agencies, who are also concerned about feeding into hysteria, reports CBS News correspondent Don Dahler. It seems as if a new report of a threatening clown pops up every hour. This week, a 14-year-old in California was arrested when he threatened a middle and high school on an Instagram page called Fontana s Killer Clowns. Police said the teen wanted to scare people and gain social media followers. We ve heard that people were going to show up on campus but we haven t seen anything, said one student. Police in Connecticut dealt with a similar social media threat targeting several schools in the New Haven area. While officials dismissed it as a hoax, they re still taking it seriously. At this time we are considering this to be nothing more than a prank and harassment fueled by social media (with) upcoming Halloween. Working with the police department and our own security team, we have no evidence that there is a credible threat to students or schools in the district, said Garth Harries, superintendent of New Haven public schools. It appears to have been much more than a scare near San Francisco on Wednesday. A mother said she fought off a person dressed as a clown, who grabbed her one-year-old daughter. I thought he was going to kiss her hand. Instead, he pulled her arm literally, so I pulled her arm 1

2 back and I kicked him, said Tiffany Martin. The phenomenon started in late August, when children in South Carolina reported seeing a clown beckoning them into the woods. But those sightings were never confirmed. The clown scare was even brought up at a White House press briefing this week. When asked if the president was aware of the troubling trend and for comment, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said, I don t know that the president has been briefed on this particular situation. Some are so upset by the perceived threats, they re ready to take the law into their own hands. Hundreds of students at Penn State University launched a late night manhunt after a clown was reportedly seen on campus. It s that type of behavior that put some professional clowns on edge. I ve been flipped off, I ve been booed, I ve had trash thrown at my car, I ve been experiencing excessive profanity while performing, said Justin Brodie, a professional clown. So why are so many people playing into the panic? Hoaxes and attempts to frighten people and people buying into it have happened throughout history, but we re ripe for this right now because social media, which allows a fear to propagate globally very quickly. And because right now, we are a country very anxious about otherness, said psychiatrist Dr. Gail Saltz. But in addition to the suspects accused of making online threats, some of those who have been arrested are charged with making false reports, making this whole situation even more frustrating for police officers all over the country. Meanwhile, the trend appeared to be spreading, with similar reports to police in England this week. Police in Gloucestershire, England, have now warned residents about people in clown suits acting suspiciously after receiving six reports of such behaviour. In some cases, the clown-suited individuals were reportedly acting in a threatening manner. Police officers have yet to see anyone in a clown suit in their responses to the calls. Creepy clown craze spreads, police aren t amused after 3 robberies Source: Christina Hall/Detroit Free Press/October 5, 2016 The creepy clown craze has spread to metro Detroit and in several instances has gone beyond creepy to criminal. In any case, police aren't amused. Two Detroit area police departments are investigating what could be related armed robberies at three stores within 90 minutes Tuesday night by a hooded gunman wearing a scary clown mark. 2

3 In another incident Tuesday night, police in Sterling Heights say a 7-year-old boy was approached about 6:45 p.m. on Normandy Street by a person, believed to be a male, dressed in a clown outfit, who grabbed the boy's arm and laid what was believed to be a plastic butter knife across it. The knife scratched the boy's arm and the clown ran away, Lt. James Belmonte said. Then around 8:20 p.m., Belmonte said, police responded to Lowell and Boulder where two women said they were walking on the sidewalk when three males in clown masks and carrying baseball bats ran up behind them, yelled, screamed and hit a fence with the bats, terrifying them. The copycat craze spreading across the country through social media is both frightening and titillating kids, while freaking out parents. Belmonte said the number of calls coming to police "is off the hook," with people asking what they should do and if they should keep their children home from school. Troy School District sent a letter home to parents Tuesday in response to an incident near Athens High School in which a teenager in a clown costume frightened some girls walking home from school. After being alerted by police, the district sent a message out to parents at Costello, Larson and Athens schools associated with the neighborhood behind the high school. School officials said that after talking with police that they knew the identity of the young man, who they say lived nearby and did not pose a threat of physical danger to students. Police found him and he and his guardian are cooperating, agreeing not to engage in this behavior again. The letter stated the teen was not a student in Troy School District, but the school has a no trespass order and he is not allowed on any school property. "This was an isolated incident and there have been no further reports of any clown 'pranks,' despite what your older children may have seen on social media. I am sharing this now with the entire district so that parents of students at the other schools can be informed and well as have a conversation with their older students about the danger of copycat behavior," Kerry Birmingham, director of communications and strategic initiatives, wrote in the letter to parents. "It may seem funny or harmless to teens but these costumes often include 'weapons' and can be very frightening to those approached. Unfortunately, communities around the country are seeing increased incidents of this nature and we would like to prevent any further disturbances here in Troy. I would also ask that you ask your children not to retweet or share erroneous information that may unnecessarily frighten others." Belmonte said what someone may think is funny or humorous can "get out of hand, with somebody getting hurt." Police in Brownstown Township and Ann Arbor are investigating whether the three armed robberies Tuesday night are related. In each incident, a person wearing a scary clown mask, a dark hoodie pulled up, and dark clothes robbed the business. The first holdup occurred about 9:30 p.m. at a Walgreens at Telegraph and West Road in Brownstown Township where the robber approached a clerk with a handgun and demanded money from the register, getting $300 to $400, according to Deputy Police Chief Robert Matthews. 3

4 About an hour later, a similarly dressed robber ordered a clerk to the ground at gunpoint at a BP gas station at Washtenaw and U.S.-23 in Ann Arbor. When the robber couldn't get into the cash drawer, he ordered the clerk to open the drawer and then back onto the ground before fleeing, Ann Arbor Police Detective Lt. Matthew Lige said. Then 30 minutes later and just a few exits away, a man believed to be the same robber held up a Domino's Pizza at U.S.-23 and Plymouth Road, Lige said. The robber ordered three employees to the floor at gunpoint, then ordered one to get up and open the register. Matthews said he believes the man in the clown mask is a professional armed robber. Lige agreed, saying that he thinks the mask worn by the robber raises the fear level of victims, who are more likely to comply, and the confidence of the person committing the crime. In this case, he said, he believes the mask is playing a role in the crime, adding the suspect "is verbally aggressive, what he says, how he says it." Matthews said while this has been the only incident involving a person in a clown mask reported in Brownstown Township, the craze presents an opportunity for people to commit crimes. There's not only concerns for the people in the clown garb, but also the person preyed upon. "Are they going to defend within the parameters of the law," he said. "It could certainly spin out of control and someone could get hurt. Detroit Police Chief James Craig addressed the creepy clown craze during an unrelated news conference Wednesday, saying "it's sweeping the nation." "It's not a joke. It's not funny. It's creating fear in our neighborhoods," he said. There have been reports of clowns in Clinton Township and Lake Orion in addition to other locales throughout Michigan. Craig said Detroit police haven't seen the level of activity as other places and officers aren't going to arrest people just because they are wearing clown suits. However, if someone calls reporting a clown making threatening gestures, Craig said, police will investigate. If it does rise to criminal activity, he said, "we'll take appropriate action." T What is the topic of the articles? A How many authors are in this week s AoW? Who are they? R Who would want to read this article? Why? 4

5 P What is the purpose/point of the article? S Summarize the first article in 8 words and the second article in 5 words. Write a 1+ page reflection in your AoW section of your Writer s Notebook one of the following prompts: What do you think about the clown craze? Why? Do you think the clown craze will end after Halloween or do you think it will continue? Why? Which level of creepy clown do you think police should take more seriously: o People wearing clown outfits and showing up in random spots at night, o People wearing clown outfits and hanging around schools, or o People wearing clown masks to commit robberies As mentioned in the first article, professional clowns are upset by the recent clown sightings. Do you think they have a right to be or are they overreacting? Why? AoW Article Rubric Annotations Reflection 5 pts 4 pts 3 pts 2 pts 1 pt 0 pts Some X annotations X X throughout the articles. Annotations throughout the articles. All. Great reflection! 4 out of 5 Good reflection with work needed. 3 out of 5 Only half of a page written. More work needed. 2 out of 5 Thoughts are somewhat developed. 1 out of 5 Few sentences of reflection. No annotations. 0 out of 5 No reflection. OR Summarizing 5