Woman detained on way to spook friend with scary mask
Police later release moped rider stopped in Tel Aviv after explaining to her ‘the dangers and inappropriateness of such behavior’

Police detained a woman in Tel Aviv early Tuesday with a Halloween mask amid a crackdown on young Israelis frightening unsuspecting passersby with scary masks.
The woman was riding a moped when she was stopped by officers for a search, whereupon the mask was found, police said in a statement. Police did not say why she was stopped.
Upon questioning, the woman told police she was on her way to scare a friend. She was then detained and brought to a police station, where officers explain to her “the dangers and inappropriateness of such behavior,” police said.
She was later conditionally released.
The detainment was the latest in a recent police clampdown on persons, mainly teenagers, dressing up in scary masks, usually clown masks, and walking around public areas in an attempt to spook passersby.

A police spokesman said Monday that dozens of people have already been detained.
Last week, police had vowed “illegal” clown impersonators would be met with “strict and uncompromising police enforcement.”
In a Facebook post a week ago, police described the recent phenomenon as part of an “international trend that has gathered momentum on social media” and said they had detained “many youths” dressed up as clowns throughout the country.
Describing their escapades as “an illegal act,” police said violators “will encounter strict and uncompromising police enforcement” and called on parents to ensure “their children are not taking part in the phenomenon, which may embroil them in criminal proceedings.”

Police also warned the clowns could be mistaken for a “credible threat” and end with the teenagers being harmed by bystanders. Police asked the public “not to take the law into its hands and not to harm the youths” since the majority of their antics did not result in any harm to people or property.
The police response came amid a spate of reports over the past week of clowns lurking in public places after dark trying to scare people, most likely inspired by the recently released horror movie “It” based on a Stephen King novel and featuring Pennywise, the dancing clown.
The trend has spurred s counter-fashion. Many of the clowns and clown-hunters have been armed.