REDMOND, OR -- A social media post claiming women are being targeted by a suspicious man at the Redmond Fred Meyer has been shared hundreds of times. But, Redmond Police say it’s only partly true. In the post, a woman says her daughter was followed through the parking lot by a man who ran off after trying to open her car door. She claims the it happened again last weekend and that other women have reported similar incidents to police.
Redmond Police Lt. Curtis Chambers tells KBND News the account is loosely based in reality. "Back in February, at about 6:30 in the evening,
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a female caller reported that a male had followed them through the parking lot and attempted to enter their vehicle and then walked off. Redmond Police were called; responded to the area and looked for the subject and did not find the described person." Chambers says, "However, since then there have been no other calls."
Lt. Chambers says social media posts are often based on truth but embellished to garner more shares or re-tweets to gain "viral" status. "While some of these incidents have a loose connection to reality and it may be difficult to decipher what is accurate or not, sometimes the underlying message is still a very good message in the form of safety. Being aware of what’s going on around them, knowing of their surroundings and just being part of where you are at that moment, so you can be safe." He adds, "Yes, an incident as described in the post did occur back in February. But, that is the only incident that we’re aware of. Redmond is still a very safe community and people don’t need to live in fear."
Redmond PD responded to 165 calls at Fred Meyer, between January 1 and June 6, 2017, which Chambers considers unsurprising given the popularity of the location. He says most of those are "officer-initiated," like traffic stops. Hit and run and traffic complaints are also frequent.
