Columbia Clowns Killed on Stage (sic. I think they mean “Colombian Clowns”)

Two circus clowns have been shot dead during a performance in the eastern Colombian city of Cucuta, police say.The attacker jumped into the arena and fired before fleeing, police chief Jose Humberto Henao told Efe news agency.

Local reports say the audience of about 20 people, mostly children, thought the shooting was part of the show before realising both men had been killed.

Last year, a prominent circus clown, known as Pepe, was also shot dead by a unknown assailant in Cucuta.

The motive for the latest killing remains unclear, police said. Local media reports suggest two attackers may have been involved.

One clown was shot in the head as he performed on stage, about an hour into the Circo del Sol’s evening show.

The second, named as 18-year-old Franklin Leal, from Cucuta, was then shot as he stood by the ticket booth, according to the newspaper La Opinion.

The travelling circus had set up in a suburb of Cucuta, capital of Norte de Santander province near the Venezuelan border, about 10 days earlier, the paper says.

I don’t agree that this is the right way to do it. Although it’s difficult for me to ignore my fear and hatred of clowns I cannot endorse this violence. After all, to destroy a clown you don’t have to shoot and kill it. All you really have to do is remove its makeup. There are exceptions, of course, such as the Joker from Batman, and zombie clowns which have to be shot in the head to truly be destroyed.

On the other hand, as I look at this picture, I find myself reaching for an imaginary gun.

If I were able to stop wretching with fear long enough to pull a gun on a clown I wonder if I could defeat him with a gun that simply deploys a flag that says “Bang!” After all, trickery is the clown’s weapon. It’s possible that those two Columbian clowns are only pretending to be dead.