Clown holding knife chases teen at Upper East Side subway station, NYPD says

A knife-wielding man dressed like a clown, who is accused of chasing a 16-year-old boy in the 96th Street-Lexington Avenue subway station last week, was arrested Thursday, police said.

Thomas Smith, 53, of Manhattan, was charged with menacing, cops said. 

Smith, described by cops as wearing multicolored "clown/performance-style clothing," was blocking the door of a northbound 6 train when the boy tried to exit at the station on Oct. 5 around 1:30 p.m., cops said. The teen pushed through and exited through the turnstile. When he looked behind him, he saw Smith chasing him and holding a knife, cops said.

The boy fled the station with no injuries.

This incident came as creepy clown sightings and threats had been reported across the country. This is one of the first known sightings in New York City, an NYPD spokesman said.

Clown Facebook and Instagram accounts made threats to about 20 tristate schools, including four high schools in the Bronx, News 12 Bronx reported in early October. The NYPD deemed the threats not credible.