A clown who allegedly attempted to grab a child who was with her mother at a Concord bus stop on Wednesday remains on the loose, police say.
Tiffany Martin told police that she and 1-year-old Kissani were waiting for the bus near Willow Pass Road and Waterworld Parkway just before 1:15 p.m. when a man clad in a clown outfit walked up to them.
"He said, 'Hi' — that was it," she said. "Then he smiled and he said, 'Aww,' and he took her hand."
Martin told police that the man then began yanking on her daughter's arm.
"So I got this one pulling her," she recalled. "She is crying. She is probably wondering what is going on."
That's when Martin, who says she had just heard about clown-related threats, decided to protect her daughter, and proceeded to kick the suspect in the shin. The clown fled eastbound on Willow Pass Road toward Market Street, according to police.
Police said the clown stood about 6 feet, 2 inches tall, had blue eyes, and was wearing a blue wig and a rainbow, polka-dotted costume. And wasn't wearing big, red clown shoes, but instead had on black sneakers.
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Although relieved that she was able to scare off the clown who tried to snatch her daughter, Martin said she is "scared" he will target someone else.
So far, police have been unable to locate the suspect. They did say the clown was not wearing typical clown makeup.
Wednesday's altercation follows clowns using Twitter to threaten schools in Antioch, Fairfield, Oakland, San Mateo and elsewhere in the United States. Although local police departments stepped up patrols as a precautionary measures, authorities believe the threats are hoaxes.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Concord Police Department at 925-603-5913.
NBC Bay Area's Cheryl Hurd contributed to this report.
