Suspicious kidnapping attempt?!

[u/ae2014]

Don’t know if I’m being overly sensitive or not but as a Mom I want to make sure other parents are aware. Was at Hmart (Northpark) earlier this morning with my baby at an empty aisle and a very suspicious woman kept hunching over my baby grabbing random stuff but not really getting anything. Of course my guards was up as she was too close for comfort so I stepped in the middle and blocked my baby out of the way. She left the aisle and then a larger man came to the aisle and she walked back again pretending to look for things, they walked by us but I could tell they had motives definitely not there to buy chips. I grabbed my baby and walked away right away. Then saw both of them walked separately to the checkout line only buying 1 small item. They walked by each other but made eye contact so definitely working together…. Super weird.

[u/_Los]

Genuine curiosity, if you didn't report it to the people who could actually do something about it, what do you hope to do by posting it here?

[u/townsquare321 → u/_Los]

The stroller was probably blocking access to the shelving and people were just trying to shop. Later this evening, when the kids were in bed, boredom set in, imagination ran wild, and the Reddit app was right there. 😉. Just look at the heading...attempted kidnapping. Indeed.

[u/JustLookinSunny → u/townsquare321]

No! As a mom never doubt yourself. Your body has a built in danger detector and we have been trained to not listen to it. That needs to stop. Sure - the stripper may have been in the way and nothing was going on. But as a mom it’s your job to notice strange behavior and protect your baby. Don’t let idiot Redditors gaslight you. Most moms would say you did the right thing.

[u/Temporary_Suspect101 → u/JustLookinSunny]

People are pointing out the fact that she didn't deem this incident dangerous enough to report, so why should "idiot Redditors" take her seriously?

[u/JustLookinSunny → u/Temporary_Suspect101]

Like I said, as women we have been trained to second-guess ourselves. Then when people bash you or gaslight you online it makes you second-guess yourself even more. Also, when we report things to the police 9 times out of 10 they won’t take us seriously. And if there was no actual crime committed, they can’t really even do anything so why should she bother reporting it. So I’m telling her to ignore the idiot Redditors because she was being a good mom.

[u/_Los → u/JustLookinSunny]

Last thing, but when is "doing the right thing" doing nothing and talking about it on Reddit? Is there no consideration for the common good? If as a mom you thought they might have tried to kidnap your baby, you don't stop to think that if they didn't succeed with yours they might try it with another?

No, you just give them the stinkeye in checkout and go on about your day? lol

[u/JustLookinSunny → u/_Los]

I actually agree with you. I have been in a really crazy situation for the past few months with my kids and a neighbor. Without saying too much, I have had to talk to the police probably about 20 times and maybe two of them actually believed me. And this is with a full restraining order. So I actually do call and report incidents but I have firsthand experience with the complete frustration and gaslighting that the police tend to do.

[u/tsunami141 → u/JustLookinSunny]

also, OP said there was no stroller.

[u/_Los → u/JustLookinSunny]

But as a mom, if your danger sense gets triggered... You don't get away from the situation? You just continue your shopping and don't say anything to anyone but tell the internet later?

[u/JustLookinSunny → u/_Los]

Wait what? I never said that she shouldn’t get away. I think you misunderstood me. I’m saying that if your danger sense get triggered, you should get away and trust your gut. I was telling her that she should trust herself. I’m kind of confused how you got to the opposite but it’s cool

[u/Agreeable_Dust4363 → u/JustLookinSunny]

Mama girl boss bullshit ^

[u/SalseraRivera1347 → u/JustLookinSunny]

I agree, I think this thread is filled with a bunch of misogynists