Intuition - a textbook example

Trusting your instincts when followed
Illustration photo, from sxc.hu

From Tulsa Oklahoma, here's a textbook example of why you should always pay attention to your surroundings and listen to your instincts/gut feeling when you get this "something isn't quite right here".

It is really impressive to see how this woman does everything right in handling this potentially dangerous situation - read it carefully and learn from it!

She got off work Thursday night, went home, opened the garage door and, as she does each night, took a moment to look around.
"When I turned around to check, I felt somebody was there. He looked me straight in the eye," Keely said.
Keely quickly realized she had been followed. She put the garage door back down and pulled out of her neighborhood, hoping maybe he was just lost, but he followed her.

What's your take on this article? Also, do you have similar experiences like this with using your awareness and trusting your instincts?

Lured with free iPod

Luckily the intended victim was aware of the set-up - being able to spot this legitimate nut-case before things got terribly out of hand.

And I do really wonder if the defense lawyers really believe in the unbelievable dribble that some times tend to fall, like perfectly polished manure, out of their mouths?

Read and judge for yourself ... and weep accordingly. "Just a rape fantasy..." my a**!

A very cautious girl

"I'm a very cautious girl," this assault victim says. If that's the case, then it scares me to even think what being less cautious implies.
I mean, having your head down, and listening to your voicemail outside a nightspot at closing time... Oh yes, very cautious indeed!

Story:
In Springfield, Missouri, police are investigating a spate of downtown attacks on a women, according to ky3.com .

The latest assault occurred on Saturday, April 26. According to reports, there have been at least five reports of attacks in or near downtown since the beginning of 2008. The victims have been women in all but one incident.

The woman who reported the latest attack said it happened on a sidewalk. She had just stepped outside the nightclub just around closing time.

In three similar incidents, the victims said they were outside downtown nightclubs right after closing times.

"I never would have thought it could happen in just a little couple seconds that that took to happen," the Saturday assault victim said in an interview.

"I'm a very cautious girl; all my friends are," she said. But that wasn't enough to keep her out of danger. "I did have my head down listening to my voicemail and next thing led to another and I turned around and there he was," she said.

The woman says she just left the nightclub as it was closing down. She came around a corner to listen to her voicemail. She was alone and that's when she says the attacker pinned her hands above her head with one of his hands, then used his other hand to assault her.

The woman says she screamed for help and a stranger from across the street ran over to help. When he did, the attacker ran off.

Other victims haven't been as fortunate according to reports. Three similar incidents reported to police have much in common. They were all after closing, all outside downtown bars, all reported rapes and all listed a popular nightspot as a place where victims had been earlier in the evening.

On the phone...

I can't help but wonder if people are at all aware of how they may set themself up as a victim. And no, this is NOT the same as blaming the victim.

Story:
Maryland -- Nbc4.com reports about a 44-year-old woman who was walking and talking on a cell phone at about 11:30 p.m. in Montgomery Village on Sunday.

A man with a knife reportedly pulled her into a lower stairwell landing in an apartment building and raped her.

The attacker fled on foot after the woman fought back, police said. The attacker is allegedly "known slightly" by the victim.

No good Samaritans

This is bad.

Story:
From Stockton, Teeside, UK news.bbc.co.uk reports about a serious sexual assault on a 20-year-old woman. She was reportedly walking home in the early hours of Sunday when a man grabbed her.

And here's the sad part: According to police, cars passed almost within inches of the assault. A number of cars, particularly taxis, drove past as the woman was being attacked, a police spokesperson said.

"It took place in the middle of the road, but not a single person stopped. There were at least five cars that passed her as she was lying on the road while the attack was taking place," the spokesperson said.

The woman had just finished a mobile phone call when the man attacked her. Despite being punched repeatedly to the face, she fought back and was eventuallyable to flee. She was later treated at a local hospital for facial injuries.

'Latching out'

You have probably heard the acronym RTFM (which stands for: Read The F****** Manual!)?
Well, maybe this story should give an indication as to why we men (because most of us will not RTFM) need to get over the "I'll figure it out myself and prove I'm a man - then - when everything else fails, I might read the manual" syndrome.

This story shows a very smart young woman. A series of precise observations and actions taking place. Read it!

Story:
Florida -- Abcnews.go.com reports about a woman who was forced, at gunpoint, into the trunk of her own car in Dayonta Beach on February 12 .

Saying to herself she had to get out before he got on the highway, the 26-year-old woman remembered the emergency latch in her trunk. She was able to jump when the carjacker slowed down, escaping with only a small scratch.

The woman said she remembered the latch because she had read the entire manual when she bought the car.

A secret password

Minnesota -- Two young Rochester students (first and second grade) said a man approached them Wednesday afternoon as they were walking to their day care after school according to kttc.com.

The unknown man reportedly told Isabel and her friend that they were supposed to go home with him. The two young girls ran away and made it home safely.

The youngest girl's mom says a code word may actually have saved the girls' lives. When the man told the girls they were supposed to go home with him, the second grader asked 'what's my password?' when he provided the wrong answer she started screaming and they ran away.

The girl and her mom picked out the code word just in case someone other than she had to pick her up.

Classic cases of distraction

In Iowa City (Iowa), police are searching for a predator (or perhaps more than one person), according to gazetteonline.com. Police say young women have been targeted in downtown neighborhoods for months.

There are reportedly more than 31 reported incidents over a period of 12 months. The cases have similarities in more ways than the description of the perpetrator - a college age, white male of average weight an height.

Victims are often distracted, talking on cellular phones or fumbling with keys.

The man sneaks up on his intended victims and flees when they resist. Police says he targets college-aged females walking alone in residential areas which are poorly lit at the time of the attack. His victims are nearly always wearing a skirt or dress at the time of the attack, according to police.

The perpetrator often may confront his intended victim for less than a minute before fleeing, police said.

A good Samaritan killed

I'm sure you've read or heard about the 39-year-old New York City subway conductor, Maurice Parks, who just recently fought off three muggers? The man allegedly trained martial arts at a Harlem 'elite dojo', and he used a knife to defend himself.

It is believed the robbery victim inadvertently may have killed Flonarza Byas, a young man who tried to help him during the incident. As nydailynews.com writes: "(...) a good Samaritan who waded into the bloody fight, was fatally stabbed - and investigators say it's likely that Parks delivered the fatal wound not knowing that Byas was trying to help."

Now, this is a tragic incident for all involved. I am really sorry for the young man who was killed while trying to help, and I really hope that the three young muggers will be tried as adults and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

What I would like to draw some attention to is how terribly wrong things can go if you just "wade into" an incident without knowing how it is perceived by the one (or ones) you are trying to help.

It is virtually impossible to distinguish who is who in the middle of a fight like this! Why do you think police uses verbal commands during their interventions?

So if you decide to intervene (which I really hope you will do), please make sure you state up front who you are and what you are doing - in a loud and clear voice. Of course it is always (if there's time) your best bet to call police first, and then try to help in other ways. You may also want to state loudly that you have called police, and that they are on their way (this goes even if you haven't called police...).

If you can not see who the attackers are - you can not distinguish the victim (or victims) from the attacker (or attackers) - it is not very wise to intervene directly/in a physical sense. If, on the other hand, you do know who you are in fact trying to help - make yourself known to that person (or those persons) - visually as well as verbally!

ATM distraction

Canada -- Police say there's an increase in distraction thefts that typically happen around bank machines, according to 640toronto.com.

They say an unsuspecting victim will withdraw a large amount of cash and is then approached by a suspect who starts up a quick conversation.

Usually, the thief offers some kind of help. When the victim is distracted, their money is stolen.

"The mp3 man"

Still thinking walking/jogging with music is a bright idea?

Story:
Sweden -- a 25-year-old Bohuslaen man has admitted seven sexual assaults, but he is a suspect in other cases as well.

The man was arrested in November as a suspect in sexual assaults in Lund, Gothenburg, Uddevalla and Bovallstrand.

The man has admitted rape in three of the cases, while other times the intended victims have gotten away.

A police spokesman says they are certain that the man intended to rape his victims in all the incidents.

The serial rapist has been called "the mp3 man" because he almost exclusively picked victims that were listening to music through headphones.

Targeting

More cases about the hazards of not being aware of your surroundings.

northjersey.com reports:
A 25-year-old suspect in a series of rapes and attempted rapes that occurred in the city's East side has been arrested, Paterson police (New Jersey) said. The man targeted young, petite Latinas. Since November 2006, he attacked at least five victims between the ages of 16 and 34.

According to police he looked for women who were distracted with cell phones and iPods before sneaking up on them from behind. They say he grabbed his victims with a choke hold, dragging them to a yard or an alleyway and then whispered in their ear before assaulting them.

And here's another report from East Lancing, Michigan:
A young woman called police saying she was approached from behind and fondled on a street by the Eli Broad School for Business building just after 11 p.m. Tuesday. She fought back and got loose in order to run away.

Another student told police a man with a tried to pull her jogging pants off while she was walking the river trail late Sunday. She also fought back and ran away.

"Both of these individuals were alone at the time," a MSU police spokesperson said. Both women escaped without injuries, but don't know the attackers. Police warn the women attacked were distracted--one was just finished making a call, the other using an iPod.

Walking, sitting duck

Depending on your point of view, it may be kind of scary, funny, or outright stupid. What?
Some people demand the right to be sitting (or walking) ducks for criminals, that's what. How is that? Well, they "have" to listen to music, of course!
Running, walking or riding a subway or bus - you see them all over. Tuned out from the world, just waiting for some criminal to pick them as a victim.

Wcbstv.com (New York) reports about a new study by researchers at the Urban Institute. The study reportedly suggests the gadget is so popular, there's a spike in violent crime nationwide.

Nearly 90 million iPods had been sold by the end of 2006, most of them from 2004 to 2006. During those years, the FBI saw a spike in robberies. Before that, crime stats had fallen 14 years in a row.

As a result, the researchers at the Urban Institute point to the easy access to iPods for the increase in robberies.

The iPods are so popular and in such high demand, many people are changing out the standard white headphones, hoping to steer clear of possible violent threats. Personally, I kind of wonder why we can't just tune in to our surroundings instead.

"It's almost the equivalent of walking around with a $100 bill taped to your back or something, so you've got this very expensive little piece of machinery that's very visible to other people," said John Roman of the Urban Institute. "And you're sort of tuned out, while you walk around with it, so it really is an invitation to a would-be robber."

Stacking

Pay close attention kids...
Here you have a slick perpetrator who is using "stacking" - that is (in this context) using more than one means to distract and confuse his intended victim.
A. Asking for direction.
B. Talking on the phone (probably just pretending).
C. Extending the hand.

Story:
Texas -- Fort Worth police were searching for a man who punched a woman in a parking lot and drove away with her purse.
Police said the incident occurred about 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The 35-year-old woman was loading her vehicle when a man drove up and asked for directions, police said. The man had a cell phone against his ear the entire time he was talking with the woman.

When she sensed something was amiss and began to move away from the man, he stuck his hand out to her as if to shake hands and then hit her in the mouth. She fell and the man grabbed her purse before fleeing in his car.

Source

Still not convinced?

Still not convinced about the dangers of walking oblivious to your surroundings?

Story:
Tokyo police have in custody a suspected rapist who stalked women walking alone at night while using their cellphones or listening to music players, sources said.

The 28-year-old man, a South Korean student living in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward, has admitted to police that he attacked several other women.

According to police, the man said he targeted women carrying plastic bags from convenience stores, thinking that they likely lived alone.

He also singled out women wearing headphones or talking or texting on their cellphones because they "tend not to notice that they are being followed," according to police.

Source

Stabbed for iPod

Sure, it only happens to others right? Nothing bad can possibly happen to me, walking around oblivious to my surroundings while listening to music? Not in this nice neighborhood? Surely no one is going to harm me for a lousy $150?

Story:
A 48-year-old man was stabbed in the back by a teenage boy attempting to steal his iPod nano. The man was cutting across a ball field to his home across from an elementary school when police say a 17-year-old boy stabbed him once in the lower right section of his back.

The suspect never threatened the victim before approaching about 1:30 a.m., police said. The man, who often takes late walks up to nine miles, sprinted the final few hundred yards from the school and woke his sister.

A King County sheriff's spokesman said it's non uncommon for people to be mugged for iPods, "but the stabbing is the unusual part." In this case, the victim got away before the thieves could take the device.

Source

Strong "belief"

"Believing she was about to become the victim of a crime, (...)"?
I would dare suggest she was spot on, and wisely enough acted accordingly.

Story:
A man and woman, both 29, dragged a motorist from her driver's seat in a carjacking attempt at a Hermosa Beach gas station, but fled when the victim struggled free and screamed, police said Friday.

Police officers quickly arrested the pair, who are also suspected of another attempted carjacking Thursday, when they pretended to be panhandlers, Hermosa Beach police said.

The first victim called police about 5:35 a.m. Thursday after racing away from a gas station. The driver told police she had just finished fueling her car and was leaving for work when the female suspect approached her and asked for change. At the same time, her accomplice and another man stood at the front and back of her car.

"Believing she was about to become the victim of a crime, she locked her doors, screamed and drove away from the location," a police said. The suspects ran and the woman called police.

Source

Gotta have music

"I can't work out without music."
Some people are never gonna learn until it hits home. Even then, many can't see that they could have done things differently ...

Story:
Wisconsin -- She didn't hear her attacker running up behind her. The 18-year-old woman was listening to her iPod as she rollerbladed along the Janesville bike trail the afternoon of May 24.

She didn't pay much attention to the man she saw sitting on a bench, smoking a cigarette. But a few moments later, he blindsided her with a blow to the head.

Knocked to the ground, she kicked and waved her arms at the assailant. He fled, and she skated home to report the assault.

Another teenager, Rachel, rollerblades the trail every morning. She's not apprehensive because she uses the path in daylight, usually with a friend.

The teenager said she can't carry a cell phone because her skating outfit has no pockets. She also listens to music while skating.

When it was pointed out that the woman attacked was skating alone in daylight without a phone and listening to music, she replied: "I can't work out without music. Where else am I going to work out? I don't enjoy the road."

Source

Offenders are getting younger

California -- Courts have seen the number of sex offense cases involving juvenile offenders rise dramatically in recent years, an Associated Press review of national statistics found, and treatment professionals say the offenders are getting younger and the crimes more violent.

Some psychologists blame the increase - 40 percent over two decades - on a society saturated with sex and violence and the fact that many of the accused were themselves victims of adult sexual predators. Others say there aren't more children committing such crimes, there is simply more awareness, better reporting and a general hysteria about sex offenders.

The number of children under 18 accused of forcible rape, violent and nonviolent sex offenses has steadily risen, from 24,100 children in 1985 to 33,800 in 2004, the AP's analysis found. Violent offenses include attempted rape and sexual assault, while nonviolent offenses including fondling, statutory rape and prostitution.

Source

Didn't like the feeling

Seems very strange to me that the parents didn't check with the modelling agency, all the time her mother got this creepy "something isn't right" feeling.

Story:
Minnesota -- A 17-year-old girl told her parents a photographer had approached her at a local store, claiming to be affiliated with a modeling agency. The man even gave her $200 to buy clothes for the photo shoot.

"To make that money quick, there is something not right. I didn't like the feeling I got," said her mother. The parents took several steps to check out the man. They even contacted local police to check out his criminal history. They found out he had a clean record.

However, when the teen showed up at the hotel room in Brooklyn Park in March, she said she became frightened when the photographer locked the door. The man then showed her other teenager's pictures, some partially clothed, some younger than she. "Right there I was, oh my God, I mean, how much younger, I am 17-years-old and she looked very young and it scared me," the girl said.

After taking several photos of girl, she said, "All of a sudden he grabbed me by the shirt and ripped my shirt off and threw that on the ground." When the man stepped into the bathroom, the girl said she escaped, first peaking at his wallet to learn he had given her a fake name. She then ran to her car, called her Mom and then police.

Source