Creepy Guy warning.
nooniesgal
member
DD and I were in JC Penney's yesterday in the baby section when this man walks up and starts talking to me about his grand child. I think he is some sweet, clueless grandpa so I help him pick out outfits. He then offers to buy dd a dress since I helped. I politely declined and let him know that I had to go find our sippy cup somewhere in the store (true....sadly) and we have to hurry before Hobby Lobby closes. The lady in that department said "back again" and said it was his 3rd day in a road to be there. After 30 minutes of cup hunting and shopping, we check out and head to Hobby Lobby. He is there and says something about it taking us so long to get there. We left!
I actually went back to penney's and let the lady know...I got the freak vibe from him. Moral of the story...stay away from creepy people & the JC Penney Flower Mound store for a while.
Re: Creepy Guy warning.
To borrow a phrase from Char... Oogie.
Yuck.
this and that poster today have me all paranoid. I tend to be very puppies and rainbows and forget there are some truly strange and dangerous people in the world (not that either of the two mentioned actually have proven to be anything but odd).
I have just seen too many baby snatcher series on TLC!!!
LOL. I am so paranoid that is one of the reasons why A is just now moving out of our bedroom into her room.
twilight zone. Just the whole "who is having a baby when I am or 6 weeks from me" is enough to give me goose bumps.
I don't know why it didn't register with me at first. I reread that article about the Craigslist murder and a light went off in my head and I beat cheeks back here to post a cautionary warning.
We have such a nice board her that I just don't think like that. Sucks that it has become an issue
I'm sorry you were creeped out by him, and it is a little odd that he showed up at Hobby Lobby too; just another reminder to be careful of what you tell people, on here, on FB, anywhere. And while I would have been creeped out by the guy too, is it really so hard to believe that maybe, just maybe, he IS someone's grandfather and never gets to see his family? If the clerk commented that it was his third day in a row being in the store he might be very lonely for his family and seeking out whatever company he can. It sounds more sad than oogie to me, really. And calling the police? Really? He's not stalking anyone yet, or hasn't done anything wrong; I think it needs to be dialed back a bit. Please don't sic the police on what might be a very sad, very lonely old man. Innocent until proven guilty, right?
innocent until proven guilty until he takes YOUR kid! sad and lonely or not, hanging out in the kids section of a department store 3 days in a row offering to buy clothes for children that aren't his screams pedophile - and the fact that he then "met" you at Hobby Lobby? wtf was he doing there? buying supplies to make arts and crafts for his grandkids?
if buying clothes for other kids makes him feel better, then he can buy an entire wardrobe and drop it off at a homeless shelter - but stay the hell away from me and my kid!
I understand where you're coming from and yes, it does scream weird, but I've got background in retail and I actually saw a lot of people like this. Very lonely elderly men and women shop like that. She was friendly to him, which is what he is seeking and wants, and she told him they were going to Hobby Lobby (if she was getting the "creepy" vibe, why did she tell him that?), so that's where he went too - because she was nice to him, she gave him what he was looking for - companionship. It's also possible that he has some psychiatric issues that cause him to do this.
I am not trying to start an argument, I just think it is important to NOT jump to conclusions and I'm trying to be compassionate to both sides.
very very freaky. Good thing you went back to let them know about it.
I think you did the right thing. I'm with JFarmer - what MAN shops 3 days in a row? Period.
Most pedophiles ARE people you know - stranger danger isn't as common as people think but still. If anyone is being creepy around my kid, you bet your ass I'm reporting it to the proper people. It would be worse if you hadn't and then next week we hear a report of a kid being snatched from the JC Penney's or Hobby Lobby.
I find the tone of your response totally unnecessary - I was NOT trying to be argumentative at ALL. I just think that calling the police is OVERREACTING when reporting it to the store management and their security is appropriate; let them handle it. Did I ever say "No, don't report it to anyone" - absolutely not, but calling the police on this man is ridiculous. If the clerk at the store is aware that he's been there several days in a row she may have already reported it to management and they are watching him.
Yes, he showed up at Hobby Lobby and I would have left too - but to be QUITE HONEST I would NOT have told him that's where I was going. Hello, if he's CREEPY why tell him what your plans are? Even if he WASN'T creepy he was a perfect stranger, it was NONE of his business and unneccessary to tell him.
I will restate what I said earlier - lonely elderly go shopping in search of companionship. If you have ever worked in retail you learn that very quickly, it's sad. I'm not EVEN CLOSE to saying that he may not be dangerous - but who are you to say that he IS? What is your proof? If you go looking for the boogeyman under every rock and pebble you're damn well going to find him. I absolutely refuse to live my life terrified to leave the house - that's where common sense comes in and goes back to Jessi's post about TOO MUCH INFORMATION. It should go without saying that you should always be aware in your surroundings and never tell people too much, but sometimes a creepy old man is just a lonely old man too.
I'm not sure how you can tell what tone I am using since my response was typed out. I wasn't trying to be argumentative towards you at all - just saying what I would do.
I've received lots of training on pedophiles and abusers and that guy presented several red flags - it's always better to be safe than sorry. Always trust your instincts - which the original poster did. No one is going to arrest him without just cause but it's always better that the proper authorities know about things like this.
I'm far from an over reactor. In fact, I trust most I meet unless I get a weird vibe. All I was suggesting was to report suspicious activity "just in case." I'd much rather know I did *if* he was someone that did in fact commit a crime than to just walk away wondering and to find out later something happened to an innocent person that I may have been able to prevent. I'm not looking for agreeance, but I am allowed to state my opinion.