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COLUMBUS, Ohio– Reports of creepy clowns are getting closer to home.

A student at Columbus North International School reported he was chased by a man wearing a clown mask and carrying a knife. It happened after the 14-year-old got off the school bus Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s very rare, but with social media outlets and movie trailers you get some people that want to copycat those,” Columbus Police Sgt. Rich Weiner told WCMH. “But when they do, they have to understand what might be funny to them can be scary to somebody else, and that’s where you bring in the criminal act.”

“If it is a nationwide thing, people have to understand that if you do chase somebody and you have some type of weapon and they do believe their life is in jeopardy, that’s criminal charge. They could be charged with menacing or aggravated menacing,” Weiner said.

Police in Columbus said this is the first clown-related incident they’ve had in the area.

Residents of an apartment complex in Greenville, South Carolina were notified last week of a person dressed as a clown trying to “lure children into the woods.”