Target employee tells woman at self-checkout section 'You can't leave'—turns out it actually saved her life
Women's safety is a rising concern in modern society. Each day we switch on the news to hear about another woman getting harrassed or assaulted in public places. Even shopping centers and convenience stores covered with security cameras do not help much in dangerous situations. One woman named Nina Sotom (@ninasotom on TikTok) was out at a Target store to shop but she was about to experience something negative and positive in a matter of few minutes. In her TikTok video, Sotom mentioned that while she was about to make her exit after the shopping spree and reached the store's self-checkout counter, Target's security personnel stopped her, preventing her from leaving.
Initially, Sotom was confused but she gradually came to know the real reason behind the security personnel's action. While Sotom was busy browsing through the racks of the Target store for an hour, the security person was actually keeping an eye on the woman. After clearing her purchase and collecting her payment, the Target staff also informed Sotom that she still wasn't allowed to leave. Sotom thought she was possibly detained because they suspected her of shoplifting. The woman was losing her patience and wondering what the whole deal was about. "I remember grabbing my receipt and holding it flat out because I know that little camera up there can read the smallest print," Sotom recalled.
While the Target staff spoke to another lady and kept Sotom waiting. The other lady turned out to be the security worker who came up to Sotom and made a shocking revelation. Sotom was told that a suspicious fellow was following her around the store and taking her picture sneakily. "I’m so sorry I didn’t catch it earlier, I would have thrown him out," the security worker apologized, according to Sotom. The security worker then ensured Sotom that the troublesome man was out of the shop at that point and posed no harm to her anymore. Sotom was even escorted to her car by the security worker.
Sotom was thankful for everything the Target security did for her and saved her from what could have been a potentially dangerous situation. "Even if that man was just being creepy and sending those pictures to a random person, it makes me as a woman feel so secure and so safe to know that other people are watching out for me and it’s not just me watching out for me," she reflected in her video, expressing gratitude to the security personnel for her vigilance. In a separate comment under the video, Sotom elaborated that her mom ended up calling the police and they contacted the Target store. They were taking the cautionary steps, just to be on the safe side. The comment section applauded the alert security who was taking care of Sotom security with pure professionalism.
@ceeyoul8rbro recalled, "This happened to me. I am 9 months pregnant and I was shopping alone with my 3 boys. A man was following us around and taking pictures of my kids. The worker was telling me I couldn’t leave. I promised that my kids or I did not steal and then I was told that a man was following me." @angelicarayy applauded, "They’re the best! When I got my husband the new Xbox. It was wild that they had two guys escort me to my car because people would wait outside to snatch it." @karlacelis_ commented, "I didn’t even imagine this is where your story would go. This is so scary glad you’re safe." @susiixx added, "Wow that’s awesome. I was not expecting that outcome! So glad to hear she was just trying to take care of you!"
You can follow Nina Sotom (@ninasotom) on TikTok for more videos on lifestyle.