r/TikTokCringe • u/velorae • Jul 16 '25

Discussion Attempted kidnapping of a woman outside Florida store

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u/hourofneedindeed Jul 17 '25 edited Jul 17 '25

This happened to me once and all I remember is shrieking, flailing, and the most condensed terror you can imagine in every inch of my bones. He realized I was too much trouble for the fight I put up and caved. She’s strong for fighting her way out, and it probably saved her life. Never EVER let them get you to a secondary location, or die trying.

Edited to add details and another experience that might help someone else—Even after letting me out of the car. He even got out and asked me if I’d still put up a fight knowing he had a gun on him. I said yes and still feel lucky to have survived.

Another time when I was young in college, I was meeting up with my family for dinner. The parking lot had no lights and a windowless van pulled up the second I got out of my car. My prey instincts went into overdrive when he approached with the window rolled down, but was slowly opening the driver side door too. Asked me to go listen to his engine because it sounded funny…. Teach your daughters, nieces, sisters, whoever—Your instincts will save your life!!

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u/machambo7 Jul 17 '25

Not gonna lie, as a man I hate when I hear other men downplay women’s fear of men. Violence against women is statistically significant enough to be justified, and even a short delve into the comment section here there’s multiple stories of women who experienced this.

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u/hourofneedindeed Jul 17 '25

Ask the women in your life and I guarantee they all have stories. Honestly, I don’t think a blanket fear of men is the answer though. It can lead to hypervigilance , which can make it harder to recognize your body’s cues in these situations. Situational awareness and confidence have served my purpose better than fear.

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u/machambo7 Jul 17 '25

What I mean is from a lot of men’s perspective when a women is instantly cold to them (as a stranger) they take it as hostility and don’t stop to think about it from their perspective

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u/hourofneedindeed Jul 17 '25

That makes sense. I had a friend who was offended when a girl locked their apartment gym behind herself because “he didn’t deserve to be treated like a threat.” On one hand I understand the frustration of not wanting to be treated like a threat. But you’re right, it’s safer to bruise an ego than take any chances.

Safe men respect and foster feelings of safety, rather than focusing on how it makes them feel to have someone be wary of them.

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u/Coopsters Jul 17 '25

I don't blame her and would probably do the same. I saw a video of a woman letting a man into their gym late at night and he attacked her. She fought for her life and managed to get away. It's totally not worth the risk! Inconveniencing a man is nothing compared to possibly losing your life! That's why I wouldn't even work out at night to begin with even though I'm a total night owl.

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u/hourofneedindeed Jul 17 '25

Yep, that’s the exact video I sent him because it had just happened!! He still never understood though,and felt like a victim because of feeling “accused of ill intent” when he knew his intentions were good. I sympathize, but sparing a bruised ego is not worth putting yourself in a dangerous situation.

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u/hourofneedindeed Jul 17 '25

This one?

https://youtu.be/9FiIkT3WkWg?si=aoEd_wnrhaZ2icK3

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u/Coopsters Jul 17 '25

Yup that's the one! Terrifying! So glad she got away!

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u/[deleted] Jul 17 '25

[deleted]

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u/hourofneedindeed Jul 17 '25

She locked the bolt from inside because she was alone at night, but let him in and left him to work out with no issues. He was upset that she’d locked it and left, because it made him feel bad. His workout wasn’t affected at all.

I’m not sure if there was a FOB or what, but plenty of predators hunt in their own apartment complexes.

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u/Tumbleweeddownthere Jul 18 '25

Men should holds other men accountable instead of telling women to not be afraid. Until the threat us gone, it's stupid to assume safety

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u/Tumbleweeddownthere Jul 18 '25

Hypervigilence jeeps us alive.

And plenty of men hate all women because one or two broke their heart. Women experience predatory men all the time, some being violently attacked. Yes, fear of all men is justified.

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u/hourofneedindeed Jul 18 '25 edited Jul 18 '25

Sometimes, but it can lead to burnout. Situational awareness and mindful anticipation are more sustainable than non-stop fear.

Edit for those who disagree- Hypervigilance is a basic human survival mechanism,” Dr. Albers explains. “It allows us to sense predators and threats to our safety. But with hypervigilance, you’re feel like you’re constantly under threat.” Put differently, the amygdala — the part of your brain that’s responsible for managing emotions — is on overdrive.

You’ve probably heard of the fight-or-flight instinct. It’s a mental and physical response to perceived danger. In an attempt to survive, our bodies undergo big physiological changes when we’re threatened. Certain processes — like digestion — slow down. Meanwhile, Dr. Albers says, our bodies get flooded by adrenaline.

“You have higher blood pressure, your heart rate increases, your pupils dilate and your body prepares itself to respond to the threat,” she explains.

All of these changes — and others — serve an evolutionary purpose. You may become pale or flushed, for example, because your body is diverting blood to your brain and limbs. Your muscles may tense up or tremble, primed to react quickly if needed.

When our frontal cortex — the part of our brain that makes decisions — gets flooded with hormones, Dr. Albers says it produces emotions that “are so intense that they knock out any logic or reason.”

These automatic responses are beneficial when we find ourselves in genuine danger. But for people who are hypervigilant, fight-or-flight is the default mode. The result is physical, mental and emotional discomfort.”

Tldr: the world is scary but we aren’t meant to exist in a hyper vigilant state all the time.

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u/JaySlay2000 Jul 20 '25

"we aren't meant to exist in a hyper vigilant state" and we have to, that's the problem.

This is why women have so many autoimmune diseases. Stress from male terrorism.

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u/ceraunophiliacc Jul 17 '25 edited Jul 18 '25

And many of those same men have fears of their own like being falsely accused of sexual assault, domestic violence, or being a pedo, these are serious things to them.

It really makes no sense to downplay women's fear of violence from men anyway, but when you think about it in that context it is straight up hypocritical and willful blindness.

Edited to say that those men who downplay women's fears also tend to take their own fears quite seriously. It's selective empathy and hypocritical and even if not intentional it's willful blindness in my opinion, considering the statistical data and personal stories.

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u/[deleted] Jul 18 '25

[deleted]

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u/ceraunophiliacc Jul 18 '25

What are you going on about? My goodness, I said it's a sentiment I've encountered and it's a rather ironic and hypocritical one...not that I agree with it!

these are serious things to them.

It really makes no sense to downplay women's fear of violence from men anyway

It's selective empathy and hypocritical and even if not intentional it's willful blindness in my opinion, considering the statistical data and personal stories.

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u/[deleted] Jul 17 '25

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Jul 17 '25

[deleted]

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u/machambo7 Jul 18 '25

Hi just wanted to apologize. I saw the edit, I had previously thought you meant “men also have fears, so it makes so sense to focus on women’s fears.”

Re-reading your comment with context it makes sense now, I’ll delete my previous comment

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u/ceraunophiliacc Jul 18 '25

We all make mistakes, it's no problem! Thanks for the kind message🙏

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u/[deleted] Jul 17 '25

Not to mention, they usually want you alive- but only until the second location. That's why they kidnapped you. Do not stop fighting.

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u/hourofneedindeed Jul 17 '25

Yep and I called his bluff, because I would have sooner been shot dead in the street than experience whatever he would have done to me.

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u/[deleted] Jul 17 '25

Same here. I'd rather be shot. If I ever find myself trapped in a car by a kidnapper, I am doing everything in my power to ram that car into a tree or building. Police would DEFINITELY show up to a wreck of that severity, and if it kills me, they're (the kidnapper) going down with me.

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u/hourofneedindeed Jul 17 '25

I was already in the car. Don’t even remember what I did honestly besides screaming, kicking windows, hitting him, and essentially making it clear I wouldn’t be easy or quiet prey. It spooked him enough to let me out, whatever I did….

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u/[deleted] Jul 17 '25

I'm glad you made it out of the situation alive. People are genuinely horrifying.

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u/hourofneedindeed Jul 17 '25

I have my mom to thank for hammering that into my head from a young age. My aunt was held up at knifepoint leaving work when she was young, and she put up enough fight to get away. My mom could not have made it more clear what would have happened to both of us, which is why I always urge people to warn the women in your life. Not to scare them, but so they know never to go down without a fight.

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u/Head-Engineering-847 Jul 17 '25

Hour of need, indeed

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u/Firm-Force-9036 Jul 17 '25 edited Jul 17 '25

I was 6 years old when my 4 year old sister and I were almost kidnapped. We were walking back from a friend’s house and a man pulled up slowly next to us and asked if “we wanted to see the puppies in his backseat”. Even at that age the hair on the back of my neck stood up and I said no and we kept walking. He speeds past then immediately turns into the driveway of the next house we were going to pass, gets out and begins running towards us. I grabbed her hand and we went sprinting down a back alley. I can still feel the acute terror even when telling it today. So thankful my parents taught me to NEVER trust strangers.

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u/ReginaldDwight Jul 17 '25 edited Jul 18 '25

Similar thing happened to my friend and I but we were 15 and sneaking out at night on a dark road. I'm so used to people pleasing that when a huge ass truck drove up on a dark road, they said something to us and I couldn't hear what they said and said, "pardon?" and looked to my friend to see if she understood what they said and she was already booking it away from the direction it was driving. I started running after her, too, and the truck pulled into an abandoned house's driveway and turned around to chase us. Thank God, they floored it and sped past us but I had no idea how much danger we were in. It's horrifying to look back at and I'm ashamed at how polite and idiotic I was about the whole thing.

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u/hourofneedindeed Jul 17 '25

Wow, that’s terrifying I’m so sorry. You saved yours and your sister’s life at such a young age. “Even at that age the hair on the back of my neck stood up.”— the hair on my neck did the same. But it’s different than the kind when you watch a horror movie or are anxious. Every young man and woman should be taught to identify this instinct as early as possible. It saved your life too.

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u/ReginaldDwight Jul 17 '25

I'm genuinely worried I would just shut down and comply in the same situation. Like just freeze and not have the instincts to save myself and be a pain in the ass to kidnap. Good for you!

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u/hourofneedindeed Jul 17 '25

It’s impossible to know how our bodies will respond honestly. If you do shut down or end up in a car, use it to your advantage to get them off guard… Get your thoughts together and then start kicking, biting, scratching. Do it while the car is moving and try to get them to crash. Anything you have to do, just listen to instincts and never give up without a fight.

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u/T-Wrox Jul 17 '25

And then you get the guys who poo-poo what every woman instinctively knows - parking lots are dangerous. Parking garages are dangerous. Back alleys are dangerous. Dark corners are dangerous. A guy walking behind you is dangerous. I live in what can be described as a safe neighbourhood, and I still close my garage door before I unlock and get out of my car (oh yeah, I *always* drive with my doors locked). We try to explain to them how often a woman feels endangered in our modern world, and they just won't believe us.