With the post-Christmas sales in full-swing, parking areas in malls and shopping spots are packed. Everyone’s hoping to get themselves into the store and grab a deal.
But now, police in South Carolina are warning the public about a new technique used by thieves: It involves using their car’s high beams.
It was only after a woman was targeted in a Walmart’s parking lot that police became aware of the problem.
The woman described on her Facebook page how the vehicle drove up in front of her and suddenly switched on their brights.
She quickly realised that the people in the car had left their vehicle and were moving towards her car while she was blinded by the strong lights. Luckily, the woman had locked all the doors when she got in the car, so the thieves were unable to carry out their intended crime.
Their attempt to enter the woman’s car failed and she was soon able to drive away from the scene, but the incident is still terrifying.
A friend of the woman described the incident on Facebook. At first police believed that it was just a bunch of kids playing a prank. But they would soon discover that something far more serious was happening.
We've noticed a facebook post starting with something similar to "be careful in parking lots especially…
Posted by Rock Hill South Carolina Police Department on Thursday, December 14, 2017
Rock Hill South Carolina Police Department posted a statement on their Facebook page:
”We’ve noticed a Facebook post starting with something similar to: ‘Be careful in parking lots, especially Walmart… Newport Walmart… car parked directly in front of her turned the high beams on….’ It has been shared numerous times, if you originated this post, please call us to speak with an officer. JI cannot find a call to 9-1-1 during that time (Sunday 12/10 around 18.30) for anything similar to this. The person may have called later about it? We want to make sure if there is more to investigate we can do that. We’ve noticed more and more crimes being reported on Nextdoor, HOA and Facebook, make sure we know about it as well. We may be missing a piece to a crime pattern. Thank you.”
The victim’s friend gave this statement to KREM:
“She heard two men on both sides of her car, the passenger and the driver side.
As she was pulling away they were still trying to get in her car they were wearing hoodies and they had the hoodie part down past their eyes. Thankfully she locked her doors. It was just too close to home and I wanted people to be aware.”
Now the police are urging that it is extremely important that they are also informed in situations like this and that the victim does not just write about it on social media.
Please help us spread this important message by sharing this article with your friends on Facebook. We hope everyone can be aware of what to do in a situation like this!
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