Father Apologizes For Scaring Students With Clown Mask

AUBURN (CBS) - An Auburn father is apologizing for a clown prank that frightened middle school students on a school bus.

He says he was playing a joke on his son when he put on a clown mask and drove to meet the bus, only to be seen by other children causing hysteria.

"The intention was never to scare the children," he tells WBZ-TV, not wanting to release his name.

The self-described prankster, who had just taken Halloween items out of storage, says he wasn't aware of the clown scares being driven by social media, and now knows his own mask became a part of it.

"It was just some bad events with a horrible timeline," he said. "I didn't have actions toward the kids and didn't follow them. I stayed in the car the entire time."

He also says he never saw other children frightened by his joke or he would have put an immediate end to it. But his attempt at family fun prompted calls to the Auburn Middle School and a parent email to police which is now considering charges calling it "bad judgment that defies logic."

That's something this father won't argue with. "I completely apologize and hope they take the apology with a full heart. I'm distraught; I would never want to see anyone do that to my children."

He says he met with school officials to explain what happened. Auburn police are considering filing disturbing the peace or disorderly conduct charges.