Students at Marion County elementary school say someone dressed as clown beckoned them

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — Another “creepy” clown reportedly has been spotted in Marion County and it has parents on high alert.

A group of children said someone in a mask gestured to them outside Wyomina Park Elementary School.

Police were called to the campus, but officers didn’t find anyone suspicious.

Officers focused their search on the edge of the school property where it backs up to a cemetery.

Police said while standing outside in a clown costume isn’t illegal, they still want to know why someone would do it near a school.

“It looked like a zombie-type of clown and he motioned at them with a finger to come at him,” said a father, who asked not to be identified. “By the time the police got there, the guy was gone.”

The clown was apparently spotted by a group of third-graders during a physical education class Wednesday.

It comes almost a week after a clown sighting in Ocala Park Estates was caught on camera.

Cellphone video showed a clown standing in the dark on Northwest 57th Avenue, about 10 miles away from Wyomina Park Elementary School.

Marion County deputies investigated the Northwest 57th Avenue sighting and deemed it a prank, saying it could be a copycat clown inspired by similar stunts making headlines across the country.

But parents don’t find it funny.

“Just because you see one other person do it on the news, or just because it’s Halloween, doesn’t make it funny or OK to do,” said a father.

Police said they’re taking the clown sighting near the school seriously and the investigation is ongoing.

Cox Media Group