Be aware of your surrondings when shopping

[Domestic Gal]

Received this email from my DH aunt. She lives in Roanoke where this happened.
So please read and be aware of your surrounding when out shopping.

Hey, ladies, PLEASE take time to read the email below. This is a friend of mine. She lives in PA but was home for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Please read what she encountered at Valley View this past Friday and pass along to everyone one you know. Be careful out there.

I'm writing a personal note to all of you; especially those who live in the Roanoke/Salem, VA area, so that you can be aware and much more cautious of your surroundings.

This past Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, my sister-in-law asked if I'd like to go to Valley View Mall around 6:30 in the EVENING. Knowing from past experience that all of the heavy "black Friday" shopping is over by late afternoon, I agreed to go. There were multiple parking spaces open near the door, as most of the shoppers were home resting at this point in the day. We went in the JCPenney catalog entrance, and agreed to split up and meet again around 8pm.

I was not shopping for anything specific, so I ended up entering Belk at the upstairs entrance and browsed. I worked my way around to the left of the store, where I tried on multiple coats and jackets. The store on that side was practically empty. I kept working my way towards the back of the store, stopping to look at various items. When I reached the left rear of the the store (again, upstairs Belk), I looked up and saw a sign that said "RESTROOMS". I decided I could stand to go. As I stepped through the doorway, there is a small hallway, with water fountains directly ahead, men's room entrance directly to the left rear, and about 4 steps to the right and forward is the ladies' room. As soon as I stepped into the hallway, I immediatly felt someone right on me. I turned and looked up, and there was a HUGE man with a HUGE head, about 6'2, maybe 300 lbs., mid-twenties to early 30's, very fair skinned black (bi-racial), with a shaved head. I had seen him in the store earlier and really hadn't given him a second thought, but as I was entering the very short hallway to the restrooms, he was there. Keep in mind the store was pretty much dead; there were absolutely no shoppers in that particular corner of the store at the time. As I looked up, I said "Excuse me", and he mumbled "Excuse me", and he went directly in the men's room to the left. I took the 4 steps or so that it took to go to the women's room door, pushed the door open, and immediatly assessed the situation: no one in ladie's room, no one in department; and I quickly backed out of the foyer and back into the store among the clothes racks, all the while watching the hallway to the restrooms. This may take several minutes to read and explain, but what just happened probably took less than 15 to 20 seconds. This man, thinking that I'm in the ladies' restroom and at this point would've been in a very vulne rable position, came out of the men's room and charged directly into the women's room, again, thinking I'm there. He never looked up as he was crossing the entrance to the hallway, or he would've seen me standing back in the store. Instead, he went directly into the ladies' room. Of course upon not seeing me in there, he came straight back out, looked around and when we made eye contact, I was about 6 or 7 clothes racks away. He then made a B-line straight to the mall exit.

It took me a few seconds to realize the full impact of what ALMOST just happened, and a minute or so for it to fully sink in. I immediatly notified a Belk employee, who contacted security, but of course by then this man was long gone and technically hadn't done anything to anyone. Regardless, I talked to another security guard, then called and spoke with a Belk manager when I returned home, who told me that they have cameras scanning that area and that she would have "loss prevention" check the tapes. I returned to the store the next day to personally speak to the manager. She told me that since the cameras "scan", it apparently didn't scan the restroom area at that time. I asked her to PLEASE make sure that the girls who work there are aware of what happened so that they could be careful, and then I went upstairs in Belk personally and spoke with any employee who wasn't with a customer at the time to make them aware of the situation and to please be careful.

OK. At the very least that would've happened if my instincts hadn't kicked in (and of course I'm aware that my Lord was watching over me), I would've at least been mugged. I personally feel that it would've been much worse than that. This guy was so huge that I'm sure my head would've been cracked open on the hard bathroom floor. I was pretty shaken as the full reality sank in, and had previously asked God to let me run into some friends I know. Within minutes after the incident, I ran into a friend from Bonsack Baptist (who's 13-yr old daughter was shopping alone at the time), then ran into my dear friend Cindy (Gillespie) Whittaker, along with her 2 sisters and niece. Of course I was spreading the word of caution to them. By the time I reached Penney's where I was to meet my sister-in-law, I was so shaken that I broke down and called my brother Jerry, who of course came straight to the mall and escorted ;us out.

When I contacted my niece who frequents the mall, she told me about the girl who was raped in the dressing room at Abercrombie & Fitch. The manager of Belk confirmed this story as she was upset that the mall managers had not been made aware of the incident so that they could caution their employees, but instead they had learned it when it hit the news. Our prayers need to go out to this young girl who was raped and traumatized in the mall dressing room.

I'm sorry for making you read such a long letter, but just want you to please, PLEASE be aware of your surroundings, and especially if you're entering any public restroom. You are in a very vulnerable position at that point.

Please pass this on to any family/friends, daughters, mothers, sisters, etc. You just can't be too careful.

[FrugalMomof3]

I thank you for sharing this letter, I will be more careful now no matter what time of year it is.

[mamamia]

That was DEFINETELY worth the "long" read! Thanks for posting. I'll be passing this along!

Theresa

[DonnainME]

WOW. I feel so bad for the lady that was raped - and in a mall dressing room. WOW. I rarely go shopping alone and even more rarely go shopping at the mall - there aren't many around where we live. You should ALWAYS be cautious of your surroundings.

[reginaastralis]

I am more than likely alone (or with my young daughter) when I am out. I have been shocked by house my sense haven't picked up.

I was out with my sister (who's 10) and my daughter, and I had a man come and follow us to our car and block the door. He was homeless and asking for money, but I didn't even see him until I tried to get into my door. I was so caught up with getting the girls in the car, and listening to them bicker. It scared me straight, and now I try to be much more aware of my situation.

Thank you for posting this. Was the girl raped the same day this happened?

[phoeny_moonstar]

Wow, that's all I can say, wow. It is a very scary thing to have something like that happen to you. I urge any one who is not comfortable with their surroundings to contact the store manager or security!!