A TikTok user allegedly experienced a scary moment in New York City.
According to Daily Mail, the woman recorded the moment when a man followed her through Union Square Park and threatened to "slit her throat." The woman, who goes by @shamsiaaaa on TikTok, said that the man made her feel uncomfortable by staring at her while she was sitting on a bench. When he got up, she felt "paranoid" and stood up to leave. But she noticed that he was following her. She started capturing the moment for "evidence."
In the video, the man can be heard speaking behind her, calling her a "b****" and threatening to "knock her f***ing teeth out and "slit your f***ing throat." In the video, the woman tells her viewers about her concerns regarding her safety. She says that she doesn’t feel safe because this "grown man keeps following me and I got you on camera that you keep following me and if you do something…" The man was dressed in dark clothes and a hat. The video was posted Thursday and got more than 1.1 million views, according to Daily Dot.
In a follow-up video, the woman recalled that she had sat down in the park because the sun was nice, and she wanted to meditate. She shared that she noticed him sitting across from her. She was on her "phone, scrolling, and each time I look up, he's looking at me." Then he goes, "Ma'am, are you okay?" She replied, "Who, me? Yeah, I'm okay."
She continued using her phone, and each time she looked up, he was staring at her. She said that she was paranoid, and she started praying to herself in that moment. She got up, started walking, but when she looked back, she saw him following her. She started recording, but said her video ended abruptly due to a spam caller.
She felt "so scared" as he continued to verbally threaten her. She said that the man eventually stopped following her, but was "still blabbing his mouth" even as he headed in a different direction. She shared that she didn't know that the man was homeless. Some of the TikTok commenters pointed out that they recognized him as a homeless man who is frequently spotted around different areas including Union Square.
New York Post reported that according to police data, rape has gone up by 26.5% in New York City compared to this time last year. Major crime increased last month, mostly driven by car theft and felony assaults.
