A woman shared terrifying parking lot footage of a scary encounter she had with a man who stalked her outside of the gym she attends.
Jan. 23 2024, Published 12:20 p.m. ET Surveillance Cameras
A TikTok user who goes by Whit (@_whitknee) uploaded CCTV camera footage of a close encounter with potentially violent implications she narrowly escaped while leaving her gym following a workout.
The clip, which has accrued over 12.3 million views on the app, has elicited a series of shocked responses from other TikTokers who shared their own gut-wrenching close calls as well as ways women said that they like to keep themselves safe.
Whit's video begins with parking lot footage of her walking to her vehicle. A text overlay in the clip states: "Me casually walking out of the gym"
The clip then transitions to a punch into another part of the parking lot where another vehicle can be seen driving up towards the general area that Whit is walking towards.
great start to the year!!!😊 please be safe, aware of your surroundings, and carry your pepper spray girlies! this world is terrifying. 🖤 #maine #southportland #humantraffickingawareness
"This car is pulling out and leaving," she writes in another overlay: "then sees me walking and parks again next to my car and pulls back into a spot next to me"
The actions that Whit's describes in her video denote that the creep in question was either leaving the parking lot and then changing course upon seeing her walk outside or that he had been following her beforehand.
In the security camera footage, Whit can be seen entering her vehicle and shutting the doors to her car right as the man exits his whip and approaches the vehicle. He stands right beside it and in the grainy video footage while it's clear to see he's hovering by the door and moving, it's Whit's description of his actions that is truly terrifying.
"he immediately gets out (thank god i was already in my car and locked the doors) and bangs on my windows and tries to open my door"
After a few seconds, Whit's car can be seen pulling out of the parking lot, she writes in a final bit of text on top of her video: "byeeeeeeee"
The responses to Whit's video were an amalgamation of empathy, shared horror, and advice, like this one earnest recommendation from a user who implored Whit, and presumably anyone else reading the comments section of the clip, that they should immediately head back towards the gym and inform an employee if they suspect someone intends on potentially doing them harm.
"If you see anything sketchy happening especially by your car go back inside n wait it out or ask an employee or person if they can walk you to your ca[r]," they wrote.
Someone else explained how they try and do their best to be safe whenever they drive to the gym: "I never have my AirPods on when I leave. I always try to park close to the entrance since I go at 4 am. This is scary."
Someone else said that if they endured the same traumatic experience then they would never return to that fitness center: "Girl that was close!!! With how paranoid I am I would never go back to that gym"
Sadly, there were users who said that they, too, have experienced this type of stalking while out shopping: "This happened to me while I was leaving a Petco. I got into my car so fast and locked the doors right away," one wrote.
Another echoed, "Same thing happened to me to this day I always lock my doors as soon as I get in the car!"
It also looks like TikTok's algorithm was "doing its thing" because the video had somehow made its way to a user on the platform who happened to go the same exact gym Whit is enrolled with.
"I go to this same exact gym. Thank you for the reminder to be extra cautious! so glad you’re okay! Stay safe girl!!"
One TikTok user detailed how fearful she was after a fellow gym goer intentionally waited for her to finish her workout and then followed her to her vehicle.
"when i was walking out of the gym last week, this guy WHO WAS EYEING ME the whole time i was in the gym waited for me to be done AND FOLLOWED ME out of the gym to my car, and when i tell u i was so scared bc i don’t carry anything on me, and was asking me questions and i literally got into my car so fast and told him to move bc he wasn’t letting me leave!"
There are various reports and surveys that unfortunately indicate harassment of women in gyms is a widespread issue that, sadly, many people experience. My Weekly, a UK based media outlet, referenced a 1,000 person survey conducted in 2021 that states 56% of women have been subjected to some form of harassment while at the gym.
Bar Bend wrote a piece that asks whether or not going to the gym is generally safe for women given the numerous harassment assault cases tied to not only fitness centers and health clubs, but also people's private apartment gyms, like this horrifying encounter Nashali Alma endured that was captured on CCTV; thankfully she was able to fend her assailant off.
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