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Women claim to be stalked while shopping at local Target, management is investigating

Posted at 12:08 AM, Sep 22, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-22 09:43:34-04
Women on closed Facebook group claim they have been stalked by a man while shopping at a local Target store. 
 
It was a normal Tuesday afternoon for one woman who wants to go by 'Casey'. She was bouncing from aisle to aisle while shopping at the Target off Congress Avenue in Lake Park with her son. 
 
"I felt like someone was staring at me and I went to glance over my shoulder," said Casey. 
 
What she saw was  a suspicious man watching her. 
 
"He didn't have a cart. He had no items, He never picked anything up," she added. 
 
Casey moved to another department with her 8-year-old son, but it seemed like everywhere she went, the man was lurking nearby. 
 
"I felt very uncomfortable and couldn't really focus on what I was in the store for," she said. 
 
Casey reported the man to Target security, but says he left the store before security could speak with him.
 
"They did inform me that this isn't the first time this has happened," said Casey. 
 
Other women are sounding off in a closed Facebook group warning each other of the incident. One woman says two weeks ago a man blocked her in the same Target parking lot and made inappropriate gestures at her. 
 
"People they come and shop and they are worried about shopping. They're not worried about 'oh a crazy lunatic is coming to touch me,' " said a Target shopper who wanted to go by "Emma." 
 
She was shocked to learn a woman was followed around the store in the middle of the day Tuesday. 
 
Target will not release details about the incident, but sent this statement:
 
"At Target our guests are at the center of everything we do and our commitment to creating a safe and secure shopping environment in our stores is unwavering. As a part this commitment to safety, we have robust procedures, policies and trainings in place to ensure that our stores are safe places to shop and work. We take any reports of safety issues very seriously, and we are looking into this matter."
 
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is asking any woman who feels like she has been stalked while shopping to file a report.