Boy, 10, cleverly asks the cashier to 'act like his mom' to escape from a creepy woman following him
A 10-year-old boy in Pennsylvania was praised for acting on his instincts when a suspicious woman approached him. Sammy Green was walking home from school when the stalker began following him on the way. Initially unbothered, Sammy did not expect her to come up and try and talk to him. When she did, the tween knew just what had to be done, as reported by ABC 6. The incident shed light on the need for parental guidance for children on dealing with a suspicious person and the basic precautions one may take in times of crisis.
On November 11, 2022, Sammy noticed a strange woman following him on his way back from school in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. His father, Sam Green, told the news outlet that she “started walking with him and asking him where his family was, asking where his dad was.” Sammy was confident he did not know the woman. When she kept insisting that she knew his family, the boy quickly realized there was something wrong. The woman went as far as asking him to come with her, and lured him with promises of buying him sweet treats at a local store.
"She was like, 'I'm going to Wawa, are you going there? What are you getting from Wawa? Where's your family at?’" Sammy recalled in an interview with CBS. The woman offered to buy him “anything he wanted” at the store, known for selling shakes and sandwiches. Despite declining her offers, the woman did not leave the boy’s path and kept insisting that she knew him and they could go to Wawa together. Still not convinced, Sammy figured he had to escape the escalating situation.
He dashed into a nearby shop called Dani Bee Funky to escape her. However, the boy knew the stalker could easily follow him into the shop as well. So, he went to the cashier at the store and asked her to pretend to be his mom. 17-year-old Hannah took the hint and remained calm while noticing the suspicious woman at the door. "He was like, 'Pretend like you're my mom,' and I was just like, 'All right, go to the back.' He didn't want to leave my side,” Hannah told CBS. She then walked over to the storefront and pulled the door shut to prevent the woman from accessing. Realizing this, the woman ran away. Though safe, it took him a while before the chills wore off. "I was still shaking when I was in here," said Sammy, whose quick thinking had helped him escape.
The bizarre incident made headlines, sparking debates about strict security measures for children's safety. The store’s CCTV footage captured the disturbing incident. 6abc Philadelphia (@6abcActionNews) shared the footage with the public on YouTube, attracting over 13 million views. While the woman’s face was blurred out, the 10-year-old boy was seen standing inside the store while Hannah locked the door. The shop owner later lauded Hannah and the boy’s bravery and for doing things “correctly.” Meanwhile, the father expressed that it was hard for him to watch the video and revealed, “I cried every time I saw it.” The incident, which could have escalated into a kidnapping, is a stark reminder for parents to teach kids about self-defence tactics to protect themselves.