I've been getting a lot of texts and messages saying.. "go get a gun..taser..knife..mace..pepper spray..rape whistle.." But none of those things really help in this situation. I haven't really found a comment that particularly makes me feel any better.. but I know that so far, that is what has been offered up the most.
I've been getting a ton of texts/ facebook messages/ emails/ phone calls checking up on me after Thursday last week, and this is my attempt at letting everybody know how I'm doing.. and what happened, because there are a lot of people asking. I have had 4 days now to really think about it, and reflect on what I should have done differently, and how I could have reacted and especially on how everything could have gone differently... and I've come to the overall conclusion that I'm okay with the way things turned out.. I wasn't physically hurt, and at the same time as my faith in people was destroyed.. it was reestablished by the people who came to my rescue.
Thursday, December 5th just before 9:00 at night, I was followed from my night class by a man who later shoved me into the side of a building, holding a knife up to my neck and demanding that I give him all of my money. If we rewind a bit to just before 6pm, I had been sitting on the floor doing homework before my class. I was chatting with a friend over Facebook and I told him there was a guy that had been pacing the little corner where I was sitting. It had made me nervous-- there was an entire hallway full of benches and places to walk/pace. I didn't get why he needed to be in my bubble.
That same man who had given me a creepy vibe before my class was the man who later held his knife to my neck and demanded my money. Because it was the same guy and I had noticed how creepy he was acting before, I was able to give the police a detailed description of him. Unfortunately, he got away.
Back to the part of the story where I'm pinned against a wall with a man yelling in my face-- now, mentally, I took note of everything on my person. I had $2 in cash, a Starbucks gift card and my bus pass. I stopped carrying my wallet around campus since the frequency of crimes has spiked. I had a ton of homework and my laptop. Finally, like most students, I had my phone and my keys.
Most nights, I talk on the phone when I'm walking. While maybe that gives off the vibe of "I'm distracted" I'm generally on the phone with someone who knows exactly where I am in case something were to happen. Thursday night, however, I wasn't on the phone and I wasn't distracted by anything other than the cold.
I had been holding my keys in my mitten, and while other people's first instinct (that I've heard while listening to other peoples' responses to this) is to carry their keys so they poke out between your fingers so you can hit an attacker with them and run... I was wearing mittens... that wasn't how I held my keys.
On my key ring, I have a little red whistle that my sister and I found at one of the little vendors at the State Fair-- it was a giveaway. I blew the whistle and yelled for help after pulling the two dollars from my pocket and handing it over... I figured he'd be pissed off regardless of whether I blew the whistle or not.. because he had very clearly targeted the wrong person. He wasn't gaining much by mugging me.
I've been told by several people that I should have yelled Fire... because people usually don't run towards the person screaming for help? I didn't. I screamed Help. Loudly.
To my luck, three guys came running around the corner of the building and shouted at the man to get off of me. He dropped his knife and took off. I more or less crumbled to the snow, hyperventilating.... I had done pretty well up to that point and hadn't completely lost it.
The poor guys thought he had stabbed me, because I fell down. One called the police and we waited for them to come and take our reports of what had happened and a description of the man. I was escorted to my car by an officer, and I went home.
That was it. I wasn't physically harmed, though I can't say that being slammed into a brick building felt great. He didn't actually cut or stab me, and he didn't really get away with much. I mean, that $2 was my lunch money for the next day at work.. but really, $2 was nothing.
Mentally, I'm doing okay. I'm afraid now.. of being in Minneapolis after dark. I won't be walking to my car alone for a very long time. But, I'm not an emotional train wreck. I'm functioning just fine, and I truly just want to move forward.
I feel so very Blessed and grateful that there were three men in the area who heard my scream and my whistle and came running. I don't think I will ever truly be able to express how wonderful it was to know that there were people willing to help a stranger. I have been constantly praying and thanking God for keeping me safe that night.
I appreciate everyone who has been checking in and making sure I'm doing okay, but I really don't want to talk about it anymore. It happened, and now I want to keep focused on my last two weeks of the semester.
Lastly, I don't feel like my carrying any sort of weapon is an answer to this problem. The University needs to get a handle on the spike in crime this year, but I do think they are doing everything they know how to do. The response time on campus was only a couple minutes, and when they arrived they did everything they could to make sure I was doing okay. I've been a little confused as to why the other attempted armed robberies were broadcast on the Campus Alert system and this incident wasn't, the only conclusion I have come up with is that it's because I wasn't physically hurt? The others were all physically hurt in the incident making it more critical... or something? I don't know, but in all honesty, I would rather not read the police report or crime alert anyways.
I personally am made uncomfortable by others carrying weapons around-- even though I understand that it's often for self defense or comfort or because you just really like to... but that's not me. I don't like guns. I don't like knives. I'd probably manage to spray myself or taze myself by accident and that wouldn't leave me in any better shape. And, it's also not my place to tell others they should or shouldn't carry a concealed weapon. I think everyone should make that decision for themselves, but I personally wouldn't be comfortable doing it. So.. no. I am not going to get a gun.
Anyways, thank you for your concern. I really do love knowing how many people care about me. I am doing okay, and it gets better each day.
Always,
H.Eilene
