READING, Ohio - School officials have closed several schools in Reading, Ohio after a woman was reportedly attacked by a clown early Friday.
According to FOX 19 NOW, the 45-year-old woman said she was assaulted by a person dressed as a clown at an apartment complex and made threats against Reading Junior and Senior High Schools for Friday.
The attack happened at an apartment complex around 2:30 a.m. Friday.
"Hi, I need to make a report of a clown coming up behind me and grabbing me by the neck and making threats," the woman told a 911 dispatcher according to a recording of the call released to FOX19 NOW.
The victim told police the suspect wore a striped outfit, red wig, and white clown mask. The victim said the clown grabbed her by the neck and said, "I should just kill you now," and, "Some students and teachers would wish they were never born at the Jr. and Sr. High School today."
The woman was transported to the hospital after the choking incident, police said. The victim told police some kind of alarm beeping from a neighbor's window may have startled the suspect, who ran off.
School officials were alerted overnight and the school superintendent decided to close all Reading Community City Schools along with Mt. Notre Dame High School for the day. "We were especially concerned with the number of students who walk to school in the early morning hours and made the decision to close school," district officials wrote in a 5:30 a.m. Facebook post, FOX 19 reported.
Homecoming activities were planned Friday for Reading High School, but officials were planning to make a decision about whether activities would go on as planned later in the day.
The school is working with the Reading police department, which is investigating the incident and searching for the suspect.