Public Radio for the Piedmont and High Country
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Police: Winston-Salem Clown Sighting False; Arrest Made

Credit: Edward Kimmel via Flickr

Winston-Salem police have determined a report of suspicious clown activity last weekend was false, and they've made one arrest in connection with the case.

In a statement, police say David Armstrong of Winston-Salem was arrested and charged with filing a false report. He admitted to fabricating a story about a clown knocking on his window before fleeing.

Police first got a report last Sunday of a suspicious clown attempting to lure children into area woods.

They conducted interviews with witnesses and reviewed surveillance video this week. But after what they call a vigorous investigation, police say they could not substantiate that the sightings ever happened.  

Subsequent clown reports came in throughout the week in Walkertown, High Point, Rural Hall and Greensboro.

Law enforcement officials say there are no pictures to back up the claims or any indication that the sightings involved direct contact with children.

Some social media images of alleged clown activity in Greenville, South Carolina, reportedly look similar to a poster for “31”, a new horror film about a gang of sadistic clowns.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

Support quality journalism, like the story above,
with your gift right now.

Donate