While walking home from school, a 9-year-old Russian girl noticed a stranger following her. Upon entering her apartment building, with the man still on her tail, the quick-witted child managed to outwit the pursuer by ducking away and evading him.
Chilling CCTV footage from her apartment security camera shows the encounter and was posted on YouTube, where it went viral.
Luckily, the child noticed the stranger tailing her. The footage reveals her smart response. She deftly hides away behind the mailboxes without him noticing, as he continues on to the elevators. Another camera shows him lingering in there, pretending to wait for the lift; and we see the clever girl sneaking back out toward the entrance without the man noticing.
Perhaps realizing he was duped, the man, too, doubles back and leaves the building; but by now, the quick-thinking 9-year-old is long gone. And the shady-looking stranger is seen walking out of sight empty-handed.
In the next moment, the camera reveals the girl returning home, this time with her dad, who was fortunately nearby. She appears to be telling her father about the scary situation with some concern.
As it turned out, the family had contacted the police, and the stalker was apprehended, Russia Today reported. The man was already known to authorities as a “registered patient with mental health issues.” Yet, since no crime was committed, the police decided not to press any criminal charges.
After the unsettling clip was posted on Russia Today’s official YouTube channel, it went viral, garnering nearly 200,000 views. Many users took to the comment section to praise the little girl’s quick wits. While others pointed out how close this was to becoming a tragedy.
One comment read, “He’s an obvious predator, should be arrested. I’m impressed by the girl. Her parents taught her well.”
Another person shared, “I’m watching, actually holding my breath. To see this young girl evade this guy and then get help was genius, but to think what could have easily happened is scary.”
One particularly troubling comment noted, “He’s clearly done this before. He knows exactly what he’s doing, and is incredibly calm while doing it. How is attempted abduction/assault and stalking not a crime worthy of further investigation?”
