TikTok creator Katie (@katiechik) says a man followed her through a Walmart, prompting her to remind viewers to stay aware of their surroundings in public. Her video had received 3.4 million views and 5,388 comments at the time of publication, according to The Daily Dot, which reported the account but said it could not independently verify her claims.
Katie said she was at the store around 11 a.m. on a weekday to exchange items and buy shoes for her daughter. While browsing the women’s clothing section, she noticed a man repeatedly walking past her slowly and looking in her direction. She became more suspicious when he continued appearing nearby, then followed her to the shoe department and the checkout line.
Katie said she called her husband and stayed on the phone as she headed to the registers. She noticed the man had a bag and appeared to have already paid. Feeling afraid, she told a self-checkout employee that someone was following her. According to Katie, the man ran off, and staff brought over an undercover security employee and took her to an office.
Katie said security footage showed the man hiding elsewhere in the store and later sitting in his car for about 10 minutes after leaving. She said the incident shook her, although nothing ultimately happened.
The video prompted viewers to share suggestions and similar experiences. Some commenters recommended drawing attention to the situation by asking aloud whether someone was following, while others described alerting store employees when they felt unsafe.
Sources: The Daily Dot.