Pregnant woman confronts young, armed ‘clowns’ in Fort Rouge

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This article was published 17/10/2016 (3367 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A pregnant woman who confronted a trio of armed, costumed youths Sunday morning says it’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt.

The three boys — one dressed as a “creepy clown” and two as random, scary characters — stood in a line blocking Shannon Dyck’s vehicle as she tried to drive down the lane behind her Fort Rouge home Sunday morning. She said one had a hammer and two were holding knives.

“It took me about an hour to get my toddler ready (that morning) and I’m 20 weeks pregnant and I don’t have time for this s–t,” she said Monday.

As she drove forward, the youths — whom she guessed were about 12 years old — started slowly walking. They jumped out of the way when she sped up, and one chased her van, brandishing a knife.

She said she slammed on the brakes, got out of the van and confronted the boy, who sheepishly mumbled something about his friend nearly being hit by the van.

“I got back in the van and they seemed embarrassed as they walked away,” Dyck said, adding she should have stayed in the van.

“Pregnancy hormones made me (confront them)… I think I kind of know who they are but wearing masks doesn’t help. I know they were trying to intimidate people. Maybe I was the first person they ran into that day and I just wanted to throw it right back at them and give them a scare and let them know it’s not cool to do that to people.”

Because she was threatened by the boy who chased her holding a knife, she’s considering going to the police.

Dyck said she knows she should not have gotten out of her vehicle and said if she happens to see creepy clowns again, she would not leave her vehicle and perhaps choose to yell at them instead.

“But those kids need to understand that I was just an angry pregnant woman but there could be someone else even angrier than me that would get out of the vehicle and try to hurt them,” she said. “I think kids need to understand that this is not safe or funny. People are really going to get hurt and they are putting themselves at risk just to look cool in front of their peers.”

Later Sunday during a press conference about the arrest of two 17-year-old “creepy clowns” in Valley Gardens, Const. Jason Michalyshen advised people to call police and refrain from acting on their own.

“Anyone feeling unsafe or finding themselves in a scenario like this is (advised to be) calling us immediately. Call 911, call the non-emergency number at 204-986-6222…” he said. “If you’re in a secluded area and you see something of this nature, go to a location where there might be people. Bring attention to yourself, bring attention to the scenario. But don’t engage someone, don’t take matters into your own hands. Any form of vigilantism or anything of the like is not something we ever recommend and that is why we’re here.”

The two 17-year-olds were allegedly chasing people and carrying what looked like a weapon on Saturday night. Police found clown masks with purple hair and a flashlight.

Disturbing “creepy clown” incidents have been popping up in Canada recently, fuelled by social media after a rash of similar incidents south of the border.

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca