So last night I got home after work. And I park by our apartments mail boxes. Behind the mail boxes, a man comes out and he looks like he’s mindlessly wandering around. By reading his body language I could tell that obviously he doesn’t belong here. He came up to my car and I rolled my window down a bit and unholstered my firearm keeping it in the dark. He asked me if an Alice lived here and was vague on his question as if he didn’t know what to ask or how to ask. He asked me the good old shark bump question “Do you smoke?” And I told him no I don’t smoke, and then he started asking me if I live here and if I knew an Alice that lived here. I told him I couldn’t help him so he walked away. I got out of my car when he was some distance away, looking around to see if there were any accomplices. I gathered my stuff out of my car, locked the doors, turned on my flashlight and start scanning in the parking lot, accidentally blinding a woman in her car because I didn’t see her. I walk past keeping an eye on my surroundings and keeping an eye especially on him. I go up to my apartment looking out my window and he’s talking to the woman who was in her car. I was assuming she’s one of the neighbors. So from looking out of my apartment window I called the cops reported a suspicious man, and the dispatcher kept asking me what he’s doing and I didn’t know how to put it to have them send an officer out to check on the area. So I told him the man’s shark bumping. The dispatcher was confused and I told him he’s looking around asking questions looking for opportunities to victimize somebody it seems. He doesn’t belong here and I want someone to check him out, I’d go out and confront him but I’d rather have a sheriff go out and do it. He told me he didn’t want me to confront the man and that he would send an officer out.
Seems fair to me. I may have stayed in my car and maybe even left to call the cops. If I got out, I may have asked if the gal wanted me to walk with her if she was waiting to go in.
You handled it correctly. You exited your vehicle and checked your surroundings while keeping an eye on the individual. You went directly to your apartment and called 911 to report a suspicious person. And you did this all while remaining safe and not firing a round. What’s the problem?
Good question… But it’s easy to understand:
“This is what a shark does to potential prey to gauge its vulnerability before deciding to strike.”
However I didn’t know it could be used to describe human’s habits.
In my opinion @Forensic_Wow did everything correctly.
He found himself in danger, went to safety then called 911.
We don’t change this order.
But we don’t know who the lady actually is. I just moved in here 2 months ago and I’ve only met a few people out of dozens of the apartment complex. Could she be a neighbor sure, but my main concern was how did this man end up over here because my apartments are out of the way from town. When he was talking to the women I was tempted, tempted to go out there, shine my 1,000 lumen flashlight at him and ask him to leave her tf alone. Her vehicle was there last night and she was in it, but however when I wake up her car is no longer there. So I can’t be too sure that she’s a neighbor warming her car up for work.
Which includes not hanging around and not going back outside, third party situation where you don’t really know anything about what’s going on and who is who, definitely better to stay out of it completely unless he, like, knocks her out and tries to drag her somewhere or something like that.
That you will never find out. Perhaps she was a getaway driver… or it was just coincidence?
The good thing is that once they found your area is not an easy target, next time they will look for the other one.
XD I freak a lot of people out in my apartment area because there’s a few people out here that do and deal drugs, weed mostly I think. But everyone in my apartment complex gives me funny looks everytime I go out and shine my 1,000 lumen flashlight sweeping with it, a lot of people associate it with a cop and it’s quite blinding.
Ah, we have identified an area of opportunity for you. Put a, no make that two, chargers for your phone into your car to be sure that you can plug your phone in and make that call. Don’t want to be without the ability to make a phone call.
I even keep a small power bank in my car so that I can plug my phone in on the go if need be. A charged and functional phone is an important piece of safety gear IMO, don’t over look prepping for it
WOW… that completely changes the scenario… it might not be a single incident then. Be prepared with charged phone next time.
Sweeping the fleshlight in such neighbourhood gives some respect. Everybody around will keep distance from you.
Not really in my opinion. Because they have 2 ways of handling things. They either come out of their apartment building and sale to people who pull up, and sometimes they have people drive by, and stop and exchange the drugs for money and a way they go. They don’t really mess with anybody. Majority of people I’ve talked too don’t do it. Except my neighbor across the hall from me. I haven’t spoken to him yet, but a lot of people here are so nice and friendly.
When you inserted yourself into a potentially dangerous situation, they decided to show up quickly!
If you said there’s a strange dude looming/loitering in your parking lot, the response time may have been a lot slower!
Great job on the heads up and feeling your surroundings!
Personally when met with situations such as that, I leave everything in the car, keep hands free and take care of things when the coast is clear.
