Creepy clown on hearse in Pohatcong Township

Pohatcong Township police said a boy in a clown costume rode on the hood of a hearse Sept. 27, 2016, outside the Super Wal-Mart in Pohatcong Plaza II in the township. He was issued a citation, police said. (Submitted photo)

UPDATE: Clown rode on hearse for laughs, not screams, dad says

A creepy clown riding on the hood of a hearse through a Pohatcong Township strip mall has been cited, township police said Thursday.

A boy was seen wearing the clown costume about 9 p.m. Tuesday outside the Super Wal-Mart in Pohatcong Plaza II, along Route 22, police said.

Police said no shoppers interacted with the clown. They did not release his name because he is a juvenile.

Footage of the clown made the rounds on social media and parents grew quickly concerned, with some notifying authorities, police said.

They later tracked down the boy who was wearing the costume and cited him for riding on parts unintended.

"The incident was a hoax," police said on the department's Facebook page. "At this time, there is no reason for concern."

Mayor James Kern praised the swift effort of police and said suspicious clowns will be not be tolerated in the township.

"This odd phenomena is happening all over the country," he said. "Hopefully, those considering these type of actions will now think otherwise."

Sightings of creepy clowns have been reported in Phillipsburg, Easton and Wilson Borough.

One occurred about 8 p.m. Sunday at Walters Park in Phillipsburg, when three clowns allegedly came out of the woods and chased a kid.

Three more sightings of clowns were reported in Phillipsburg on Monday. About 5 p.m., someone was seen dressed as a clown on Hudson Street; at 7:45 p.m., a jester holding some kind of sword ran after a child on Shafer Avenue; and at about 9:30, a dark-colored truck was seen driving down Mercer Street with multiple clowns hanging out the window, police said.

Officers checked on the reports but found nothing.

Also on Monday, a group of children near a Wilson Borough elementary school told police that three people dressed as clowns chased them about 3:15 p.m. The clowns reportedly got into a white vehicle and drove south on Front Street. School staff, who were outside for about 30 minutes, didn't see the clowns, borough police Chief Steven Parkansky had said. Nor did police, who investigated.

Those reports followed two within 12 hours last week in Easton, and similar sightings in Pottsville, Pa., and Huntingdon County, near Harrisburg. Police remain unsure if the jesters are spurred by the theatrical remake of "It," the Stephen King horror story, social media, a desire to pull pranks or something more nefarious.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.