Scary costume, toy machete draws cops to Halloween store

JOPLIN, Mo. -- A southwest Missouri teenager dressed as a machete-wielding madman to promote a Halloween store was the one who ended up getting a scare.

A police officer pointed a gun at the costumed teenager and ordered him to the ground Saturday after getting a report that a disturbed person was brandishing a weapon on a city street.

The teen, whose name was not released, wore a mask and swung what later proved to be a plastic machete while waving to cars outside the Spirit of Halloween store.

Other officers arrived and quickly determined the boy posed no threat.

Rick Henderson, consignment owner of the store, says the boy was not acting strangely. He says a large banner advertised that it was a Halloween store.

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Information from: The Joplin Globe, http://www.joplinglobe.com