Man with clown mask arrested on warrant after scaring Liberty shoppers

A Liberty man found out Saturday night that wearing a clown mask in public and scaring people might not get you arrested, but an outstanding warrant will.

Police received reports of a suspicious man wearing a clown mask about 8:40 p.m. Saturday near the Price Chopper at 896 S. Missouri 291 in Liberty.

According to a news release from police:

Callers to 911 reported a clown was driving a gray Ford Fusion in the store’s parking lot, sometimes exiting his car and scaring people.

When police arrived, they stopped the man, who immediately removed the mask.

The man told police he had just purchased the white rubber clown mask with a red nose at a nearby Halloween store and was in the area waiting to meet with his father.

The man denied he was trying to scare anyone.

But before police had stopped him, the man allegedly entered Price Chopper wearing the clown mask until he was asked to remove it by management.

Several teenage girls and a woman in the parking lot also told police they were frightened by the man’s appearance and behavior.

Creepy clown sightings have become a “national prank,” but few law enforcement agencies are laughing.

Police said no charges were going to be filed based of the man’s behavior while wearing the clown mask.

However, police arrested the man, identified as Gabriel Harding, 22, of Liberty, on an outstanding Kansas City warrant for stealing. He was turned over to the custody of Kansas City police.

This story was originally published October 9, 2016 at 1:47 PM with the headline "Man with clown mask arrested on warrant after scaring Liberty shoppers."