I'd call the cops. And mall security, they could at least walk her to her car tonight.
She is home already tonight. I don't know that they have dedicated mall security.....it's sort of an outdoor collection of stores lol. It does not have "mall" in its title. It's kind of like a strip mall but the stores are in pods, not a strip. I could have her ask if they have any dedicated security, though. That is a good idea.
The camera footage is a good idea! I did not even think of that. It is 12:30 AM here, and she is probably in bed, but I'll be calling her first thing tomorrow to give her some of these ideas.
It just makes me sort of sick to think about this. I mean, there is a chance he is a nut who got his say at her store and will drop it, but part of me is terrified he won't. I will also ask her if she at least remembers make/model/color of car.
Does she know anyone from any of the other stores? I would tell her to park near one of them, and walk out with a friend. Does she have security cameras in the store? If so she needs to see if she can get a still shot of him, to give to the police.
The camera footage is a good idea! I did not even think of that. It is 12:30 AM here, and she is probably in bed, but I'll be calling her first thing tomorrow to give her some of these ideas.
It just makes me sort of sick to think about this. I mean, there is a chance he is a nut who got his say at her store and will drop it, but part of me is terrified he won't. I will also ask her if she at least remembers make/model/color of car.
He already went much further than your typical "road rage" type person. Which means this is not a situation to dismiss. She should definitely make a police report as well as check any camera footage and notify mall security. She should also think about letting the proprietors of her neighboring shops know what's up, especially if she's in her store alone frequently.
This may sound like overkill but it's very concerning that this guy followed her for so long. He's not acting rationally.
She should install a camera aimed at her own front door at the very least. Many are very cheap and work over Bluetooth with your phone or tablet so it's not a huge investment. Not just because of this incident but also because people could be stealing from her if she needs to go to the storeroom, etc.
Post by MixedBerryJam on Jul 3, 2015 7:13:57 GMT -5
Honestly, I'd be terrified. If the guy is able to look up license plates to get names (all it takes is having a friend who's a cop, I suppose, or -yikes- being a cop) then he has the ability to get her home address, too. I'd definitely talk to the police. Good luck to her!
Yikes. This guy seems freaking. She should definitely call the police and report it. I'm sure they can provide lots of info about how she can keep herself safe.
Do you know if she started to pull into her store before she realized she was being followed? I feel its incredibly nuts that he knew where she worked unless her car is parked directly outside of her store and he just went store to store until he found her.
There are about 20 stores in this "strip mall" of sorts. There are a few places to park. The main parking lot is out in front of her store, but you could go back through the mall, up some stairs and into a smaller parking area. The fact that when she watched him walk away, he went back into the mall, does make me think that maybe he just followed her to the mall (or maybe she had tried to pull in before she realized she was being followed--I'll have to ask that) and then went store to store looking for her, which is even creepier, I think.
Another part of me is worried that he followed her from the Goodwill to her store (she said she thought she lost him, but even if he was several cars back, he may have been able to keep tabs on her), and did he just wait until he saw no other customers there to go in? Equally bad.
It also makes me nervous that her license plate is Mrs. and then part of her last name (only the first few letters). But it probably makes it easier to get her name, like a person above mentioned.
Thanks for all the additional tips! I will be sharing these when I talk to her today. I do know that she has some security cameras in her store, so that's good. I'm not sure about the parking areas of the mall or the Goodwill.