Terrified families on alert as US cops put out yet ANOTHER warning about men dressed as clowns targeting kids
Sightings of people in clown costumes trying to tempt kids into the woods have now been reported across seven states even prompting children to arm themselves
COPS in Pennsylvania have warned parents to be careful while they investigate reports of clowns acting suspiciously in the state.
The epidemic of creepy clowns attempting to abduct children is had previously been confined to the southern USA.
The sightings in the northern state have so far not confirmed whether or not the the people are pranksters joking around or something more untoward.
But police in the area appear to be taking the reports seriously - but are being careful not to stir up too much fear.
Pennsylvania State Police trooper Adam Reed said citizens should "not confront the individual but rather gather information and report it to your local police".
State cops are investigating the recent unspecified clown sightings in the towns of Huntingdon and Ebensburg, where a woman said she saw a clown peeping through her window.
Hanover Township, PA. police chief Albert Walker, stepped up patrols along a main highway after posts on Facebook about a clown in woods nearby.
Pottsville Police Chief Richard Wojciechowsky said there was a clown-related incident reported on Monday evening about 90 miles northwest of Philadelphia - but there was no cause for alarm.
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He said: "Two knuckleheads with clown-like clothes on hopped out of a pickup truck and yelled at a group of young children and teenagers.
"It wasn't a physical threat or a violent act. At best, (it's) a misguided juvenile prank. Some of the older kids weren't even frightened."
Sightings of people in clown costumes trying to tempt kids into the woods or standing in a sinister manner beneath streetlights have now been reported across seven states.
Reports have also emerged from Escambia County, Alabama which saw a woman arrested following social media threats from accounts using the names Flomo Klown and Shoota Cllown.
Police in west Georgia said they received numerous calls about clowns trying tot talk to kids and an 11-year-old girl was arrested for for possessing a knife because she was frightened of being attacked by a clown
They were also investigating a reported Facebook threat to kidnap children from numerous schools in the LaGrange area.
Callaway Elementary, Franklin Forrest Elementary, Callaway Middle School, Troup High School, and Callaway High School were all reportedly named in the threat.
The police department posted a message on Facebook: "This behavior is not cute or funny... if applicable, you may face charges."
But the sightings in Georgia are just the latest in a string of bizarre incidents in the American south.
Another sighting in the city of Dublin in the same state sparked concern after a driver phoned cops to say he had to swerve to avoid hitting a clown standing in the middle of the road.
Earlier this month children at the Fleetwood Manor Apartment complex in Greenville, South Carolina, said someone dressed as clown was trying to lure them into the woods with promises of sweets.
Resident Donna Arnold told: "I thought my child was seeing things. And then the next day I had about 30 kids come up to me and say, 'Did you see the clown in the woods?'"
The town of Winston-Salem in North Carolina's police force said a clown wearing white overalls, white gloves, red shoes with red bushy hair, a white face and a red nose.
Sightings have also been reported in Maryland and two years ago in Bakersfield, California police received 20 reports of clown sightings including some suggesting they were armed.
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