Business & Tech
Target Pulls 'Creepy Clown' Masks From Shelves And Online Amid Nationwide Threats, Scares
"Creepy clowns" have unnerved people across the country, and threats made on social media have cancelled schools and frightened kids.
Target is getting out of the "creepy clown" craze. At least for now.
As social media threats from "clowns" have shut down schools and terrified children across the country, the nationwide retailer said it is pulling clown masks from its shelves and online stores.
"It was just really when you consider the external environment and given that broader environment we made the decision to edit our assortment," Target spokesman Joshua Thomas told Patch in a phone call Monday morning.
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Thomas said the masks were taken off store shelves last week before being removed from Target.com.
Indeed, when Patch tried to search for "clown masks" on Target.com, we were greeted with a message that said, "product not available." A Google search for "Target.com clown masks" linked us to an old product page that has since been taken down.
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Clown masks, though, have been good business for other costume-sellers.
Halloween Express told Eye Opener TV in an interview that its sales of clown masks were up 300 percent from the same period last year.
And not because people are trying to make other people laugh.
“In the top 10, eight of them are ‘evil’ clown masks this season whereas last year, five of the top 10 were ‘evil,’” Halloween Express spokesman Brad Butler told Eye Opener TV.
Other major online retailers such as Amazon and Walmart still have plenty of "creepy clown masks" on their websites available for purchase.
The recent rash of "threats" from "clowns" has largely been all talk and no action.
For example, an Instagram post from a user called "Clown of Philly" threatened a school shooting at a Philadelphia-area school. "Coming to Neuman Goretti on Monday!! Gonna shoot all the kids and teachers," the post said, complete with a picture of a scary clown.
The culprit: a 13-year-old girl.
A similar post in New Jersey threatening violence against a school was traced back to a 12-year-old girl.
When can peaceful clowns expect to be able to buy their masks in peace at Target again?
"Not before Halloween," Thomas said.
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