A teen dressed in a clown costume showed up at a west-end school as classes were being dismissed on Wednesday and chased around students on school property.
The bizarre incident occurred at Pope Francis Catholic School near Ossington Avenue and Dundas Street at around 3:15 p.m.
Police said that two 15 year olds were detained in connection with the incident. They were later released without charge after being cautioned.
According to police, the teens were filming their activities for a YouTube video.
One parent who spoke with CP24 said that some students were brought to tears by the ordeal.
Police, however, said that the teens did not physically touch any students.
Speaking with CP24, Toronto Catholic District School Board spokesperson John Yan said that it appeared that the teens were former students, one of whom dressed up in the outfit as part of some sort of prank.
Yan said that the school would be sending a letter home to parents informing them of the incident and offering counselling to any student who requests it.
Sightings of frightening clowns have become common in recent weeks, with numerous incidents being reported on social media in both Canada and the United States.
Earlier on Wednesday, Yan told CTV Toronto that there had been social media threats issued against eight TCDSB schools by a group called "Clowns in the 6."
Yan said that police were notified of the threats and that school administrators were made aware.
"Students had become aware on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat that a number of our high schools had been specifically named as targets for potential clown attacks," Yan told CTV Toronto on Wednesday afternoon.
