Halloween Scare Comes Early for "Machete-Wielding" Mo. Teen

JOPLIN, Mo. (CBS/AP) A Halloween marketing ploy turned terrifying for one teenager in costume.

The boy, dressed as a machete-wielding madman to promote a Halloween store in Joplin, Mo., wound up with a real police officer pointing a real gun at him.

The Joplin Globe reports the officer pointed his gun at the costumed youth 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.