I don't usually spend much time on my personal blog, but this weekend's events seemed like they deserved a post :)
We decided to go to a shopping mall on Friday night. My spouse wanted to pick up a copy of the "Anne of Green Gables" book series, after we had recently watched the Netflix series "Anne with an E" that was based on the books (good show btw).
We got to the mall and as soon as we got out of the car, we heard this lady screaming really loudly about someone who had stolen something from her.
She had pulled up right next to another car that was parked outside the main entrance, and had gotten out with a baseball bat. We heard a loud pop and the sound of breaking glass, as she proceeded to smash in the windows of the other parked car.
My thought at the time was seriously - this stuff actually happens in real life?! (I couldn't believe what I was seeing.)
We resisted the urge to record the whole thing on camera for fear that the crazy lady would see us and target us next. I also didn't put it past her (or the owner of the car being smashed) to escalate and start involving guns. We decided to discretely enter the mall and stay far away from the drama.
As soon as we got into the store, I realized that I had left my Barnes and Noble gift card (that I received from my mom for Christmas) back in my car. I wasn't about to pay cash for something when I had a gift card laying around. I told my spouse that I'd have to go back to the car to get the gift card.
I hate to admit it, but more than wanting to get the gift card, I wanted to see what else had transpired with all the drama.
When I stepped outside the mall entrance, I could still see the car with the smashed windows sitting out front. The crazy lady was nowhere in sight though, and by that time quite a few people had gathered nearby and were watching to see what would happen next.
I decided to discretely walk past the car and pretend like I was oblivious to what was going on, while busily doing something important on my cell phone. As I walked past the car and was confident that nobody was paying attention to me, I tilted my phone towards the car and quickly snapped a shot :)
I continued on to my car to get the gift card.
As soon as I got to my car, I started digging around for the gift card. I was far enough from the smashed car and the girl seemed to be long-gone, so I wasn't really paying much attention to the scene anymore.
As soon as I found the gift card and pulled my head back out of my car though, I realized a police car had pulled up right behind me and was basically boxing me in.
They were not interested in me though; they were interested in the car parked right behind me.
Two police officers had gotten out of the car and were pointing guns directly at the car behind me, yelling at the people inside to get out of the car or they would be tazed.
Given that guns were already drawn, I quickly closed/locked my car and got out of there as fast as I could without making a scene. As I was walking away, it appeared that they were starting to arrest one of the occupants of the car.
The End.
Yes, these events really did happen to me this weekend. Exactly as described :)
The Twin Cities metro in general may have a lower crime rate than a lot of other metro area but we sure have our share. Once when I lived in the Longfellow neighborhood I pulled a muscle in my back and was in so much pain that I couldn’t even drive. Ended up taking a bus to the emergency room at Abbott Hospital. They gave me Percocet and morphine and sent me on my way. Waiting at the corner of Chicago Avenue and Lake Street for the bus ride home, two squad cars pulled over a vehicle and four cops got out, guns drawn. Everybody else waiting for the bus had good sense and took cover but I, higher than a kite, just stood there fascinated by all the flashing lights.
Just another day in that particular neighborhood.
Lol. Well Chicago and Lake is not exactly the best place to be either :) Most of the city is pretty nice, but that is one of the higher crime areas.
@timcliff how are you?
I do not know that you know that you are the reason that I am here at steemit. It was only due to help of you and @drakos that I got my account. Without your help this would not have been possible. So thank you very much for you priceless time to help me. I owe it to you.....
Now coming to the post:
That really was quite a show The lady put up. If I were you then I would also have done the same thing I. E to stay away from the fuss. When someone is this furious we should never deal them with anger. First we should let them settle and then try to nagotiate and solve the problem....
It really seems like a hell of a weekend you had there!
When I was reading your post the suspense was just building up and up. Line after line I was just thinking that what would happen now. How will the woman calm down? What will she do next? How will she be stopped? How will you get to your car? Etc. It was really a very entertaining post! Thank you for sharing it.
BTW what happened to the woman? Where was she when you came out of the mall?
Thanks buddy!
May God be with you always!
Best wishes....
I'm not sure what happened to the lady. The last thing that I saw was the police arresting one person in the car behind me. It wasn't the same lady as the one who had smashed in the car windows, but I assume he was somehow involved.
what happened?
Well at the start I did not knew anything about account creation...... They helped me in all the hurdles.... I waited for almost a month to get it.... @timcliff guided me what to do next and @drakos gave me the stucksignup form...... These are only some of their favors that I told you..... They have done a lot more than this..
What do you think about Imran Khan , new PM ?
Well he is a really good person.....
I voted for him actually!!!
He will help us to get a peaceful and positive image towards the rest of the world,and deep down I know that we will do it.....
In the past few years we have been declared as a terrorist country no one sees that we are the one who waged a war against the terrorists community and won...... Pakistani people are very friendly and peaceful and I think that IK will help us to clarify this image towards the world...........
You should perhaps visit Pakistan someday and enjoy its beauty and its unique people.......
Best wishes!!
I hope nobody was injured?
@timcliff Unfortunately things like this happen all too often, but seeing as they were right behind you, it's a good thing that you and your car made out safely when you went back for your gift card. Also a good thing that someone was arrested for this act when they should have just waited for the police to get there first and file a theft report.
And thank you for actually blacking out that car's licence plate. Many people don't stop to think to do that and don't realize some dangers of not blacking the tags out.
Were you and your spouse able to at least get the "Anne of Green Gables" books?
Yes, we did. Technically that mall didn't have it though, and we ended up having to go to another mall to pick it up.
Sorry to hear they didn't have them and you had to see that whole ordeal, but glad you were able to get the books.
Bad witness, bad witness, what you gonna do, what you gonna do when they come for you?
"I'll get my Barnes and Noble gift card, and buy a nice book, thank you very much, Mr Guns-drawn-officer." :D
PS: We watched Season 1 of that "Anne with an E" thing last year, and it's awesome, a wonderful combo of predictably tender and surprisingly gritty, but nothing beats the original "Anne with Green Gables" book for laugh-out-loud characterization. :)
Season two is even better!
I’ve seen some not so good things but that just takes the cake. Perhaps they thought they were still playing GTA 5 lol. Makes you wonder what could cause someone to go that crazy.
We once had someone go thought the neighborhood a few times in the past and put nails and other sharp objects under anyone’s car tires if they were parked outside. For a while you had go out and check under each tire and even at the bottom of the drive way. over time they did catch some bored kids who where causing the mayhem as they walk their path to the local school. Some people just lack any kind of respect for other people’s belongings.
Thank goodness they didn't come in your direction. Reminds me of when I was heading to the convience store and noticed a guy walking very fast behind me.
He caught up and was walking beside me as if trying to hide. Next thing you know, as we reach the corner, a police car pulls up and the officer grabs his gun.
I almost had a heart attack. But he said "not you" and pointed it at the other guy. Whew! Just like you, I quickly got the hell out of there!
do you ever notice that
you can sense such things coming?
Oh yes, many times. I've even blogged about it. Saved my ass more than once.
so you did , ever notice that...
Yeah, that sounds like Maplewood. Otherwise decent town, if not for the crazies that show up every now and again.
Damn, you beat me to it! lol.
Yikes! This makes me glad I live in a quiet town in Canada. Glad you're okay.
Wow @timcliff, what a turn of events. I ran into something similar to that in LA when my wife and I lived in downtown Los Angeles when she was a travelling Nurse at USC. I was jogging downtown and I heard these screams from a woman. I looked over across the street and this woman wedged her body under the tire of her car and was trying to stop the man from carjacking it. He started running over her. But then stopped and ran off.
Human nature can be ugly as sh@t.
Tim, just glad you didn't get caught in any cross fire or something. We need as many high quality Witnesses as possible so we cannot lose any like you at this juncture ;)
Cheers,
Robert "Turned Dolphin Last Night" Andrew :)
Grats on the dolphin, by the way.
Fun times as long as people are doing stupid stuff and not killing each other. As for me, the most ridiculous thing I saw was a bar fight start because someone grabbed a slice of pizza off a drunk man's plate. LOL
@timcliff is really amazing that this happened in real life, but it happens daily and much more dramatically than the situation you just lived, people have many worries and something, anything at least, serves to act in a way Extremely aggressive, regardless of the place or time.
I'm sorry about what you're going through
I wish you a great day
I don't fully understand the law, but I think you have the legal obligation to report what you saw to the police. You just posted hard evidence of a crime, and you claim that you witnessed the crime taking place. I understand why you don't want to get involved, but the police can use this as obstruction of justice, if you fail to report. You got to be careful on social media, when you claim to be a witness. The police could ask, why didn't talk to them first?
Interesting. I wasn't really aware of that. I'll do some research. Thanks for letting me know :)
Well I don't blame you for not wanting to get involved. You could get forced to testify as a witness in small claims court. It's very unlikely, but you got to understand the cops perspective. They think, here's a guy trying to make a buck on social media, but didn't take 5 minutes to talk to us. Personally I would make a phone call, and tell them everything you saw. At least it could help the defendant get money for her car, and a restraining order, if the person is unstable.
It probably has to do with some breakup. A girl can get hostile, when another girl takes her man. Maybe she stole something from her as well. There's a small risk is you report it, but you might feel good about it. I think it's the right thing to do.
Well for one the guy whose car it was technically saw it happen too and I’m pretty sure he called the police. I don’t think I would have much to add. Plus I’m pretty sure they were arresting the people involved as I was leaving. The mall also has security cameras.
I did look it up btw and it is not required by law to report what I saw. There are certain cases where it is (like child abuse) but the type of crime in this scenario is not one of those types.
I totally respect your decisions to stay out of it. In this day and age, you can never be too careful. I was in a slightly similar situation, and the police wanted to talk to me, because I thought I was helping a friend. They asked me for details, but I politly requested to refrain from giving certain details.
The cop told me I was obstructing justice, and I said I would like to help you, but I don't want my friends ex not getting a job for the next 5 years, because of a criminal record. I told the cop, I've seen a good friend of mine struggle with employment in his field, because of one mistake. The cop looked at me, and said you're a person with integrity, don't worry about my request.
If I were asked any info from a cop, I would have provided everything I knew. I think that is a slightly different situation though than needing to volunteer it without them asking.
This is why, regardless of how much cheaper it would be for me to live in York City Proper, I live in one of the outlying boroughs. The crime in the tiny Borough of Yoe here in York County Pennsylvania is so low, we don't even have our own constable or police department.
Sure, we have our share of crime. Most of the criminals are on the down-low out my way!
Crazy! Sounds like a Movie :-))))
Madness. So as best you can tell these were two unrelated incidents in the same lot at the same time?
I am pretty sure they were related. I am pretty sure the people that were getting arrested in the car behind me were somehow involved in the smashing of the car windows.
Go there next week , same time...report back
LOL
Wow! I’m proud of you for resisting filming it. Too many people aren’t as wise. Now I’m curious, what did you get at the store with the gift card? Talk about a cliff hanger, Tom. lol. See what I did there? :)
Hehe. (Tim btw, not Tom) We bought the book series "Anne of Green Gables".
Auto correct ruined my joke :( my best friend is a fan and she really enjoyed the Netflix series. She’s seen all the remakes and I think this one is her favorite. Do you have a favorite?