SMITHFIELD, R.I. (WLNE) — It was a not-so-happy Halloween for some trick-or-treaters in Smithfield after police said they were called for reports of a man in a clown suit scaring children in a small neighborhood. The Smithfield Police Department said officers were called to Willow Road on Oct. 31 for a report of two people in clown masks in a van scaring children. Police arrived just before 8 p.m., and parents of a two-year-old told them a person with a clown mask jumped out of a van and came up behind their child. According to the parents, the man then grabbed the child and started screaming and shaking them. The parents told the man to leave, with a video of the incident showing the father yelling at the man. Police said they found the van on Randall Street and described it as a “pop-up” haunted house that would “lure” children to the van to scare them. A witness said the clowns were well received by some people in the neighborhood before the incident with the two-year-old That witness said the clowns had been handing out candy in the area and tried to apologize to the family. Police added that the owner of the van also denied making any physical contact with children, and no arrests were made after the investigation. Categories: News, Rhode Island