Woman Says Stranger Was Waiting By Her Car at Target, Then Told Someone to “Call It Off”
What was happening in the Target parking lot? A woman says a stranger was waiting by her car before telling someone to “call it off.”
A woman says a frightening encounter at Target left her convinced that a stranger was waiting for her in the parking lot, and she claims the situation changed when a Target employee walked her back to her car.
The incident happened in July 2023, when Megan (@meganxalexa) says she had to make a late-night trip to Target for menstrual products. She says she noticed a man standing outside the store when she arrived, then spotted what appeared to be the same man standing near her car when she returned minutes later.
She went back inside for help, and according to her account, the man appeared to tell someone to “call it off” after seeing her approach with a Target employee.
Her Concern Grew When She Saw Him Near Her Car
At first, the man outside Target didn’t seem like an immediate threat. He wasn’t smoking, talking on the phone or interacting with anyone, but his decision to stand near the entrance struck her as unusual.
After spending a couple minutes inside, she checked out and headed back to her car. She then spotted him on the passenger side of her car, which she had parked somewhat apart from the other vehicles.
He appeared to be pacing, looking around and occasionally looking down rather than examining the vehicle. With darkness approaching, she decided not to risk walking past him and instead pretended she’d forgotten something inside the store.
A Target Employee Walked Her To Her Car
Once back inside, a younger male employee agreed to walk with her and put on a neon vest before they headed outside. The woman says she felt safer with someone beside her, but as they approached her car, she noticed the man was wearing an earpiece and talking to someone.
Because she speaks fluent Spanish, she says she could understand the conversation. According to her account, the man noticed her approaching with the Target employee and began saying, “It’s off” and “Call it off” into his earpiece.
She says he appeared to be looking toward a nearby vehicle that was running with someone inside. She couldn’t see the person because of the dark windows but says they appeared to be communicating with the man by phone.
The man then walked back toward the vehicle, according to her account. She quickly unlocked her car, got inside and drove away.
Megan says she was crying and shaking once she was inside and called her boyfriend at work. She says she circled around instead of driving directly home because she feared someone might follow her. Once she arrived, she stayed in her car for a while because she felt too frightened to walk from the carport to her house.
“I don’t know if it was as sinister as it sounds and felt,” she said.
She doesn’t know what the man intended, whether the nearby vehicle had any connection to him or whether anyone planned a crime. It only describes what she says she saw and heard that night.
Target Already Has Measures In Place For Parking Lot Safety
Target has not publicly confirmed the woman’s account, but the company says it has measures designed to promote safety around its stores.
The franchise says its workplace safety efforts include parking lot lighting and landscaping intended to improve visibility and deter crime. The company also says its stores have dedicated Assets Protection team members and that employees receive de-escalation training.
The woman did not identify the employee who accompanied her or say whether he worked with Target’s Assets Protection team. She said she wasn’t sure whether putting on the neon vest was standard procedure.
Target also has a solicitation policy covering its property, including parking lots and sidewalks. The policy restricts certain activities by people who are not Target employees or vendors, although the policy does not establish that simply standing in a parking lot violates its rules.
Similar Claims Have Circulated Around Target Parking Lots
There is no evidence in her account establishing that the 2023 incident involved human trafficking. That distinction is important because law enforcement has previously pushed back on viral claims that suspicious behavior in retail parking lots necessarily indicates a trafficking operation.
In 2017, a Facebook video about an alleged attempted abduction outside a Target in Canton, Michigan, went viral. Canton police investigated the claim and found no evidence that the alleged incident had occurred, while Michigan State Police also addressed misconceptions about how human trafficking typically occurs.
Target does have policies addressing human trafficking, but those policies primarily concern its supply chain. The company’s standards prohibit suppliers from using forced labor or engaging in human trafficking.
Target’s published materials neither warn customers about trafficking in its parking lots nor claim that trafficking occurs there.
The Experience Still Affects How She Handles Parking Lots
The woman says she has thought about the 2023 incident ever since it happened. At the end of her video, she describes a more recent parking lot encounter that reminded her of what happened at Target. She says another man tried to get her attention and waved for her to come over, but she deliberately ignored him.
She does not connect the two encounters or claim the more recent man intended to harm her. Instead, she says the earlier experience left her particularly wary whenever strangers approach her in parking lots.
“Don’t follow people in the parking lot,” she said. “Don’t go talk to women sitting in their cars.”
For her, the experience was frightening precisely because she says she couldn’t determine what the stranger wanted. She says she hopes she never has to experience anything similar again.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
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