“So what do you call the act?”

Colombia clowns killed on stage

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. [BBC]

A possible clue to what’s going on can be seen in this picture, taken from the front page of the Clowns International website. Unfortunately the picture isn’t clear; if his index finger is not extended then he’s simply giving the thumbs up, or possibly hitch-hiking, but if it is, then he appears to be making a sinister threat along the lines of “I’ma pop a cap in yo’ ass, or at the very least some custard”.

If we immediately assume that this is the message Clowns International is trying to send—which I have certainly demonstrated to my own satisfaction—it is only to be expected in the wake of the vicious turf war that has erupted between Clowns International and Caring Clowns International. “Don’t bloody talk to me about Caring Clowns International,” said a spokesman for Clowns International. “Those hapless bastards do more harm than good. They’re a right bunch of clowns.”

With the clown world wracked by this kind of infighting, it is quite possibly inevitable that yesterday’s events in Colombia will soon be the norm. “I’m scared,” said a member of Caring Clowns International who did not want to be named. “We need to stop the madness. Well, the madness involving guns, anyway. Not all the other madness, buckets of water down your trousers and all that. That madness is fine.”