A strange incident Tuesday after school near Pine Creek Elementary in Bennington…school officials tell Channel Six News a man was handing out candy to children as they walked home from school.

There was no abduction attempt, but it was an odd circumstance and hopefully a teachable moment to our children about stranger danger.

It was an strange scenario that two young boys fell for.

The children were approached by a man in a clown wig that was rainbow colored and asked if they wanted a piece of candy.

The boys took the candy...then walked home.

This happened Tuesday afternoon --- a block away from Pine Creek Elementary School near Bennington.

"It was an alarming situation,” Principal Shannon Thoendel said. “Even though there was no indication of foul play or that the kids were in danger or anything, we thought it was important to report the incident and follow with procedures of a stranger trying to talk to our kids."

Thoendel reported the incident to the Douglas County Sheriff's Department.

The man apparently also showed up on several doorsteps nearby.

Deputies increased their presence near the school.

The school saw the incident as a teachable moment.

"We talked to our teachers about the incident, asked them to then talk to the students about stranger danger, what to do if approached by somebody they were unfamiliar with," Thoendel said.

There's a lot of open space and construction going on near the school, so it's hard to tell who belongs in the area and who does not.

Rob Ahrendsen’s nine year old son attends Pine Creek Elementary
“There's always a chance...you never know and as we've told our son, unless we know who they are, there's no reason to be talking to them," he said.

The school's newsletter includes a special message this week.

“It contains information for parents about how to talk to their kids, stranger danger tips, what parents should do including contact the sheriff's department immediately," Thoendel said. "We hope our parents see the newsletter that we're sending home on Friday and will sit down and have a good conversation with their kids."

No one knows just who the man was and why he was wearing a multi-colored clown wig while handing out candy to children.

When these incidents happen it's a reminder to all parents to have a little talk about stranger danger with their children.