Schools
Clown on UIC Campus Turns Out to Be Performance Art
University of Illinois-Chicago police received reports of a clown on campus Tuesday and stopped a student doing an art project.
CHICAGO, IL — Reports to University of Illinois-Chicago police of a clown walking around the campus Tuesday afternoon turned out to be a student trying to create a work of art, according to the university.
"There were reports made to UIC police about a clown on campus," said Sherri McGinnis Gonzalez, the university's senior executive director of public affairs, "They looked into it and determined it was a student doing a performance art project."
No arrests were made, and police have contacted the individuals who called in the initial reports, McGinnis Gonzalez said. The UIC spokeswoman said she was unaware how many calls police received about the clown, adding that all calls from students worried about their safety are taken seriously.
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RELATED: Creepy Clown Sighting Reported in Worth
The reports of the UIC clown come on the heels of schools in Chicago Heights and Hammond, IN, taking precautions Tuesday in response to social media threats from an alleged "clown gang." Across the country, there have been a rash of individuals dressed as creepy clowns in 26 states, including one clown spotted Monday in suburban Worth.
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Online platforms like Twitter were buzzing about sightings of the UIC clown as early as around 11 p.m. Monday night. By Tuesday afternoon, photos of an individual in a blue jumpsuit and yellow-and-orange clown mask on campus began appearing.
Some kid thought it was cool to dress up as a clown at UIC today #why
— Hina Siddiqui (@hina_fatima831) October 4, 2016
A clown is at UIC that's it I'm transferring
— Ale Guzman (@aleguzluvsu) October 4, 2016
Clown on UIC campus SOS
— Bailey (@bay_okeefe) October 4, 2016
Photos of UIC police confronting the clown and handcuffing him near the university's Behavioral Science Building, 1007 W. Harrison St., were posted at about noon Tuesday, Oct. 4. Witnesses said officers tackled the man in the clown outfit and then took him into custody.
Guy dressed up as a clown tackled by cops at UIC. Guess I'm hibernating till next summer.
— Bastian (@SebbySterz) October 4, 2016
they just arrested a clown on my campus. i am livid. pic.twitter.com/xkliyWyY7j
— Ilyas Ashar (@ellyorwhatever) October 4, 2016
"[T]he clown seemed to loom," UIC student Elijah Hernandez told Patch (he also took the above photo of police surrounding the man and posted it to Twitter). "He avoided people who tried to approach him. He didn't seem like a threat. … It seemed like he didn't try to resist [the police]."
University of Illinois-Chicago police handcuff a student in a clown suit Tuesday, Oct. 4. (photo by Elijah Hernandez)
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