MACON, Ga. — A Georgia man is in stable condition after he told authorities that he was jumped and shot by people dressed as clowns, Bibb County sheriff’s deputies said Thursday.
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Authorities found Marvin Leon Cooper, 24, just before 6 a.m. Thursday at Navicent Health Hospital. He had been shot once in his left leg and told deputies that people dressed as clowns were responsible.
He said he was walking through Alphabet City “when some subjects dressed as clowns jumped out of a vehicle … and started shooting.”
He later admitted to fabricating the encounter, deputies said.
He told authorities that he was shot by a stranger after he told the person that he didn’t have any drugs after the person approached him. He couldn’t provide investigators with a description of the shooter and said he didn’t know where the shooting took place.
He was last listed in stable condition.
Authorities continue to investigate the assault.
The report is the latest in a string of reported clown sightings in southern states. Authorities in LaGrange, Georgia, fielded several calls on Monday about clowns attempting to lure children into the woods. Authorities across the Carolinas have also received dozens of similar reports.
None of the reports have been substantiated and at least one person has been charged with filing a false report in relation to the sightings.