There have been several posts appearing on social media lately, namely from women who have felt uncomfortable or threatened in local establishments. Some people have claimed that a man or pair of men have been following them closely as they shopped at the Carroll WalMart, but these have only been posted to social media and no official complaints were made to store personnel or the Carroll Police Department. In a similar incident on Monday, however, the female who felt threatened did notify police about the situation. They reported the incident at approximately 9:45 p.m. after leaving the Carroll Hy-Vee store. She told the officer that while shopping, she noticed a tall, African American man in pajama pants who was talking on his phone and repeatedly looking at her. She continued her shopping, but he followed her through the store, and at one point began yelling out “hi” to her to get her attention. She informed a store employee about what had happened and then called 911 to report the incident. When the officer arrived at Hy-Vee, the subject had left, but he did fit the description of a person that was acting out at the Farm Bureau offices earlier in the day. As authorities continue to investigate this particular incident, Chief Brad Burke reminds everyone that they need to be vigilant of their surroundings. “If they see something that seems off, they should notify staff at the store they are at AND notify the police,” Burke says. He adds that he too has seen some of the posts to social media sites about situations that should be looked into, but those individuals never contacted law enforcement, ruling out any possibility of being able to conduct an investigation. Anyone with information about the suspect(s) is asked to contact the Carroll Police Department at 792-3536.
