Parking Lots Can Be Dangerous

In our October 2014 story about the Most Common Places For Assaults On Women we said that “the facts are that they can occur any time or anywhere because women are attacked so many more times than men are. This list is certainly not all inclusive, but statistically these are the most common places for assaults on women.”

One of those places is parking lots. When you think about it, it only makes sense and here’s why. When women go shopping anywhere, at a mall, at a grocery store it makes no difference-they leave their cars in parking lots. When they return to the car they are often distracted by talking to a friend, talking on a cell phone or watching the kids or any other number of distractions. Additionally many parking lots for commercial establishments do not offer any type of security and are poorly lit, all of which makes for fertile hunting grounds for sexual perverts.

In today’s article we are going to provide three examples of assaults on women in parking lots.

According to this story out of Los Angeles a man sexually assaulted a woman in a remote section of the San Bernardino mall parking lot. The victim had gotten off a bus and was walking alone on her way to work when a man followed her off the bus and threatened to hurt her if she didn’t follow instructions. According to police, this is an area with a lot of petty thefts and narcotic activity. The woman was assaulted in the open in broad daylight.

In a story from Phoenix, Arizona a 60 year old woman was attacked by an unknown man who tackled her and then dragged her to a nearby parking lot where he continued to beat her. The entire incident was caught on a surveillance camera from the parking lot. The woman was walking to a convenience store around two in the morning which apparently is not uncommon for this part of the city. Two good Samaritans save the woman from further beating by scaring away the attacker.

Three unidentified suspects assaulted a Reston, Virginia man and a young woman from Sterling, Virginia after a fender bender accident in a local shopping center parking lot assault. The suspects also stole the woman’s purse which contained cash and credit cards. The male victim was backing out of a parking space in his car when it was was struck by a second vehicle. While discussing the damage, three suspects assaulted the man who ended up with non-life-threatening injuries to his head and face.

Here are tips for anyone but especially for women.

Among those included were:

1. Paying attention to your surroundings going into and especially coming out of the store.
2. Be especially suspicious of strangers trying to get your attention.
3. Park as close as you can to your destination and park in a well-lit area.
4. Buddy up with a friend.
5. Lock your car when you arrive at your destination, use your keyless entry to unlock the door from a distance and then, once inside, relock it quickly.
6. Pay attention to that inner voice that women seem to have.
7. When approaching your car inspect the area around, underneath and next to your vehicle. More than one assailant his hidden underneath a car to grab an unsuspecting victim.
8. Do your shopping during the day if at all possible. If you must go at night, make sure your car is in a brightly lit area.

“Finally carry some self-defense product with you such as a keychain pepper spray or stun gun. Even a personal alarm can scare away an attacker and draw attention to your distressful situation.”

Share your parking lot assault experiences with us so that others may gain from your experience. Don’t be bashful; chime in now!