A teenager has been stabbed after attempting to frighten a group of young people in Berlin by wearing a clown mask and brandishing a hammer.
Police said a 14-year-old in the group responded by pulling a knife and stabbing the clown, only to find that the person behind the mask was a 16-year-old acquaintance.
He rendered first aid until emergency services could arrive.
The older teenager was taken to hospital, while the 14-year-old was released to his parents.
A rash of sightings - some confirmed, some not - have been reported in Europe and the US of people dressed as clowns and acting in a disturbing manner.