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California Teenager Arrested With AR-15, 'It' Clown Mask, Police Say
San Leandro Police seized a “fully-loaded” semi-automatic rifle with a drum round magazine, as well as an “‘It’ clown mask” from an unidentified teenage driver earlier this week.
A teenager was pulled over this week in northern California while in possession of a loaded AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and a clown mask similar to the one seen in the hit horror film “It,” police said.
The unidentified teen driver was pulled over at around 12:05 p.m. on Sunday, according to the San Leandro Police Department. Officers seized a “fully loaded” AR-15 rifle hidden in a bag in the vehicle’s backseat. The weapon had a 50 round drum magazine with a single bullet in the chamber. They said they also found marijuana in the vehicle.
“This was a great traffic stop that took an illegal and dangerous weapon off the street,” San Leandro Police Department said in a statement. “This is another positive outcome in keeping the citizens of San Leandro safe.”
A mask of Pennywise the Dancing Clown, the form assumed by the evil antagonist of Stephen King’s novel “It” and its screen adaptations, was also found in the vehicle, authorities said. Police propped the grinning red-haired clown mask on the hood of a squad car alongside the loaded AR-15. The mask was similar to the version of the clown villain from the 2017 blockbuster adaptation of “It” and its 2019 sequel.
It’s unclear where the teen may have been heading with the firearm and mask. Detectives nonetheless took possession of the mask as evidence in the instance it had been used in a robbery or other crime.
"The mask was found inside the vehicle, however, it was not accompanied by a costume," Lt. Liquat Khan, a criminal investigations commander for San Leandro Police Department, told Oxygen.com on Wednesday. "Believing that the mask may have been used during a commission of a prior crime since a rifle was also recovered, the officer took the mask for 'observation' in the event a nearby agency was investigating a crime involving a suspect wearing a similar mask."
The suspect was booked into a local jail on several drug and weapons charges. Police stated that the driver couldn’t be identified because of their age.
“The defendant is a juvenile, therefore their name will not be released,” Khan added.
