06-05-2025
Neighbor pins down chainsaw-wielding man in clown mask, footage shows
COHOES, NY (WTEN) – A New York man helped pin down another man in a clown mask who was carrying an electric chainsaw down a street in the city of Cohoes on Thursday.
'I was walking my mom out to the car,' said local resident Natalie Gwinn. 'She was going to pick up my daughter from school, and I saw a dude in a blue sports jersey in a clown mask walking down the street. It was a little weird, but I kind of rolled my eyes and ignored it.'
A New York man helped pin down another man in a clown mask who was carrying an electric chainsaw down a street in the city of Cohoes on Thursday. (WTEN)
In a security video shared to Nexstar's WTEN, the man seen is coming up Newark Street and then turning right on Lancaster Street. Police say a neighbor saw him looking into cars and that's when things quickly changed.
'I heard a man screaming 'Call the cops!' repeatedly,' stated Gwinn.
A few moments later, the video captures a neighbor of Gwinn's holding the suspect down until police could show up.
'It felt like a few seconds later there were cops coming down Lancaster,' Gwinn explained.
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Police said they initially responded to reports of a 'fight between two males' at around 2:40 p.m., Cohoes Chief of Police Todd Waldin said. Once at the scene, police were seen surrounding the men, ultimately taking one into custody.
Waldin said Thursday's incident was something he had never seen before.
'Officers arrived and when they separated the two they were able to determine that there was an individual who was wearing a clown mask and had possession of an electric chainsaw.'
Police identified the man in the clown mask as Craig W. Wolcott of Albany. He was arrested and taken to the Albany County Jail where he was booked on three felonies: 'Two different counts for possession of a weapon — one being the chainsaw, another one being a metal knuckle knife that he had on his person. And then the third one being the fact that he menaced someone with that chainsaw, which is a dangerous instrument or deadly weapon,' explained the chief.
The unusual arrest rattled the nerves of some neighbors.
'It's usually pretty quiet around here. It's usually just kids in the streets playing,' said Gwinn.
Wolcott was still in custody as of Monday evening. It was unclear when he will be appearing in court to face charges.
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