'He began pulling up his pants and running away very quickly'
LONGVIEW, Wash. - A man who was exposing himself took off running after a Longview woman pulled out a gun and pointed it at him.
"He was probably four or five feet from us and had no problem doing what he was doing," the woman said. "I was concerned what he would do next if I didn't take action."
The woman, who did not want to be identified publically, said she was at Lake Sacajawea around 8 p.m. Wednesday when a man approached her aggressively while masturbating and suggested she should watch him.
Instead the woman furnished her gun.
"I had the gun in the pocket of my jacket. The magazine was in but it wasn't locked in place," she said. "So I locked in place and cocked it, pointed it at him and told him he had five minutes to get out of there or I was going to shoot him."
"He was frantic," she added. "He began pulling up his pants and running away very quickly."
She said she bought the small Ruger pistol about six months ago for personal safety. Wednesday was the first time she had ever carried it outside of her home.
Longview police detective Kyle Sahim says officers haven't found the man bbut are investigating several suspects.
The man involved in the Lake Sacajawea incident was described as a white male in his early 20s with short dark-blond hair.
The victim called police later in the evening, saying she was looking at an online database of local sex offenders and believed she recognized the man she saw at the lake.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
"He was frantic," she added. "He began pulling up his pants and running away very quickly."
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LMAO!!! Yeah, I imagine he WAS. LOL!!!
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She should have shot him in the ass for being one.
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Think! Harry. Think!
 @HarryJuku LOL! It wasn't YOU was it , Harry? Naughty, naughty! Hee hee hee!
 @HarryJuku Are you retarded or do you have a problem with literacy?  THe article said the man was masturbating and approached her aggresively asking her to watch him.  That is not her being overly paranoid.  Are you a woman? Have you ever had someone sexually assault you?  THink harryjuku think!
I Love this story! Maybe he caught his junk in a zipper........one can hope. I do hope they find the guy.... he's probably still trying to clean up the mess he made on himself. I dont care about all the what if's... You GO SISTER!!
 @Susabelle I certainly hope he had to change his shorts (if he had any on) when he got to his man cave. With luck he won't be doing that again. Frikkin' preverts.
"IÂ locked in place and cocked it, pointed it at him and told him he had five minutes to get out of there or IÂ was going to shoot him."
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She was going to give him five minutes to finish. Did she or does she have a permit to carry the weapon? Has she had training in the use of a weapon? The story does not really mention her experience with a weapon. As posted elsewhere, bear spray might have been a bit better. Hopefully she gets some training, to make sure she does not accidently kill someone walking along the street. This could have turned out very badly.
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Glad she scared him away, even though he apparently was not a risk to her. Glad she did not shoot someone for no reason also, or she could be facing some time in jail.
 @Just Lookin Methinks thou hast thy priorities seriously screwed-upeth.
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 @Just Lookin In the video I saw last night she said 5 seconds, not 5 minutes like this story says.
Sounds like my criminal cousin. She should have fired the gun because it's the only way he'll learn.
Good for her! Maybe he is still running!
Bear spray comes to mind. Now THAT would have been totally acceptable and really effective. You go girl!!
Why is no one wondering what this woman was doing alone with her child at Lake Sacajawea at 8 pm at night? That place is sketchy enough in daylight.
@Kphrog walking?
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 @HarryJuku Get a clue, she has know idea what this whack-job is going do to. Her response is 100% appropriate.
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ok and how long could it POSSIBLY take to pull up your pants and take off...? The dude obviously has issues to be touching and exposing himself in public! i would say rape is a good probability in the given scenario. Who knows what kind of diseases that pervert has? and on the gun issue? yeah that was a good call. It has a safety for a reason. There only would have been danger for this fool if she had wanted to put him in it.
 @HarryJuku HarryJuku wrote, "There's no way he was going to do anything to the dumb girl with the gun."
1. How do you know that? Are you aware of every detail of the tactical situation and physical environment? It sounds like you're making some baseless assumptions.
2. Why do you call her a "dumb girl?" She's a woman, not a girl. And, I assume that you mean "stupid" rather than "dumb". We know she's not dumb because she was interviewed. And why do you assume that she's stupid? Do you know her? Or do you call her stupid because you disagree with her actions because you assume that you know better? If you're going to call others stupid, wouldn't it help to actually know what you're talking about first?
 @HarryJuku Have you ever spent any time in Longview? When I was living there back in 2000, there were bodies turning up all over the hills. There were pipe bombs going off in the Highlands, and there was a HUGE meth problem. I carried a gun with me when i had to walk to work at night. That town still makes me feel uneasy at times. It's my home town and I wish more people would do this. Things might finally change,.
 @HarryJuku You're kidding me, right? How did she know this freak wasn't going to try to rape her?
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 @HarryJuku HarryJuku wrote, "He wasn't going to rape her" I'm curious how you know that? Were you there? Are you aware of the entirety of the tactical situation? You announce your conclusion with certainty based entirely on speculation and assumption. And why the childish name-calling? Do you think that adds or detracts from your post?
Exactly. Nobody was hurt or raped ,(this time). Worked out well.
"Wednesday was the first time she had ever carried it outside of her home."... good use of her intuition!
Also, why do we keep seeing people go over the edge to become sex offenders? When is preventing this kind of behavior ever going to get seriously addressed?
While the loser was whipping it out, she whipped it out. Hers was bigger! She did what she had to do to protect herself and her baby. Her .32 made her equal to that jerk. Sam Colt made all people equal. Good job lady. She carries a gun because she can't carry a cop.
A squirt or two of pepper spray on the parts he was busy with would've also been REEEEAAAALLLLLL effective in stopping that cold....still, I loved this story. Â Five minutes? Â She should've said he had 5 seconds to clear a country mile....and timed it. Â Love it...
See liberals why us gun owners want to keep our guns and concealed permits?
@Liberty4_WA I carry liberal amount of ammo in my weapons. If I ever need to get rid of a threat I will use a liberal amount of ammo on the threat. Obama has not and will not take any of my firearms. At least the electoral college and the popular vote did not WRONGME. He tried his used car salesman tactics and lost. Hopefuly GW Bush GIFT to the top 1 or 2% will also expire soon.
 @Taxedstwrker Your use of childish name-calling like "WRONGME" detracts from any valid points you might be trying to make.
 @Liberty4_WA I am a liberal and I believe in the right to bear arms. I was raised around guns, they fed my family when we were hungry. Guns don't kill people, people kill people.
@Liberty4_WA I'm a liberal and I own a array of handguns.I also conceal carry.Sterotypes and generalizations is why so many people voted the way they did this election.
I've been in similar circumstances, being followed with my then young son. I was not carrying a purse so no reason to follow me other than nefarious reasons. Luckily a Portland Police officer saw what was happening and stopped the guy and talked with him while I walked as calm as I could on, not wanting to frighten my child.
5 minutes that a lot of looking time! Do you mean 5 seconds? lol
 @goldie In a video interview I saw last night on another station, she said 5 seconds.
 @goldie I was wondering the same. lol
The victim called police later in the evening, saying she was looking at an online database of local sex offenders and believed she recognized the man she saw at the lake. Â - Â Don't you think you should call the police first before you start Sherlock Holmes'ing it yourself?
 @CorporateCowMoo Who says she didn't call them first and then call back later with more information?
Love it! A perfect example of why we should all have a CCL. Good job on follow-up as well.Â
What a sad job of reporting! While I have no respect or tolerance for individuals commiting crimes, especially when there is a child present, it is dissapointing to be reminded that "victims" are applauded when they commit a crime of their own. Did the woman have a concealed carry permit? Does Washington state law allow anyone with a gun to threaten to kill someone that may be commiting a crime regardless of the severity of said crime? Last I checked this perpetrators  lewd behavior, or possibly endangering a minor, does not constitute a life threatening situation.
Is this news snippet another emotional tug at peoples fears or just another news story where pertinent facts are accidently or puposely left out?Â
@33 I don't give a flying finger what the law says, if some man wipped his man brain out in front of my child and was acting aggressively to us I would not have done anything different. What would you like her to do let him start hurting her or her child, then screem for help.
 @33 Geeeez 33 get a Grip....she did NOT shoot him, just scared him.  Not a bad job reporting - this is what happened.  And it did not tug any fears of MINE it made me smile like a bandit...take a pill and chill.
 @33 It is difficult to reasonably reach a firm conclusion based on press coverage of the events as they do not (and cannot) convey all of the relevant factors. Because it has been reported that law enforcement officers have said that she acted legally, the most likely scenario was that a reasonable person in her situation would believe that the suspect posed an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury (i.e. violent sexual assault, murder to cover up the assault, child kidnapping and molestation) to her and therefore she acted reasonably in presenting her firearm. Given the fact the fled the scene when the weapon was presented, there was no longer a threat present and no reason to fire (and she didn't.)
Your comment suggests that you may misunderstand self-defense law. Concealed handgun license/permit systems aren't about stopping crime, per se. They are about defending one's life and the lives of loved ones and innocent third parties.
@mikew No, I don't know the specifics of self defense law and I did not do a full on fact check before posting. I checked a few versions of this story and did not come upon any comments by police that the women acted in a legal manner when I posted. That point is news to me. Perhaps it is different background that leads me to disagree with the womans actions, specifically her threat, but I still see no evidence of immediate physical threat. I support her right to legally carry a firearm to protect family and herself. I am glad her and her son are ok. My main gripe is with poor reporting, or at least my interpretation of it. The simple fact that it was reported by police that the woman acted with in her rights is an important one and I did not find that fact.
 @33  @mikew It doesn't need to be reported that she acted within her rights, with innocent until proven guilty that is the default position and need not be reported.As for why she was right to act in the way she did, you will want to look to the reasonable person standard. Where in the United States, a reasonable person when approached by a stranger masturbating in public and told to watch, will find that situation threatening, and view taking steps to prepare to defend against a sexual assault as being equally reasonable.
 @33 Yeah, your just another number,
Not sure what I would have done in a similar situation however, I would really wonder if she would have been legally justified to shoot an unarmed person exposing himself. Weeny wagging is not a capitol offence. Yes I know her son was there, however she had an avenue of escape, did he threaten her physically, was he physically bigger that her, the distance between the two etc.........This would have been a different story if the guy grabbed the gun etc. and shot her and her son....BTW: 380's just bounce off the body and then you have a PO'd person.
@FreerideNOT not to take this away from the point more than you have done but you may find it reassuring that since the increased interest in easily carried firearms using the .380 cartridge a great deal of development has taken place which has resulted in the availability of pretty effective versions of the load. Even without that there would not be a case of a .380 "just bouncing off the body" as you claim.
 @FreerideNOT The question really is would a reasonable person in her circumstance believe that the suspect posed an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury to herself, her loved ones or to innocent third parties. Indecent exposure by itself does not constitute a qualifying threat. However, when considered in the context of the totality of circumstances (his body language, the physical distance involved, the layout of the physical environment, the degree of visibility, etc. ad nauseum) it certainly could be. Given that it has been reported that law enforcement officers have stated that her actions were legal, the presumption remains that she acted properly.
Perhaps further investigation will change that and perhaps it won't.
@mikew Pretty hard to be out in a public park with your pants around your ankles and be able to pursue a fleeing woman and 10 yr. old....The articles I have read indicate the same, the suspect had no weapon.......The court will ultimately decide reasonable, if she were charged as there has been no mention if she had a ccw.......if not she admited to being in a public place (not her home) with a ccw.....btw: most weeny waggers are not a physical threat, they are nut jobs that want to expose and run....
 @FreerideNOT You are making too many assumptions and engaging in too much speculation. You do not - and cannot - know whether the suspect was a threat unless you know far more than what has been presented in the press.
 @FreerideNOT ~  "...unarmed person exposing himself..."  What guarantee did she have that he WAS unarmed ~ or that what he was doing was ALL that he intended to do?  He could have easily had a knife or a handgun concealed on him... What would you have her do; "Hey, mister, do you have any weapons on you?" and then wait to see what he does next?  Â
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Given the unstable  / unpredictable mental state of some people running around loose these days, I think she did exactly the right thing...Â
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BTW, I hope this lady has a CHL... Â :-)
@margay1 The same info you have, I read the article, no mention was made of the suspect having a weapon...well except you know what......was he an actual physical threat, how far away was he, lots of facts both presented and unknown to the average reader.
 @mikew  @FreerideNOT Not to mention that it typically doesn't matter at all whether the aggressor has a weapon or not.
 @FreerideNOT You seem to be making a common mistake about self-defense law. The relevant factor in determining the appropriateness of presenting a weapon has to do with what she knew at the instant she did so. Based on what has been reported, there is no means by which she could know that he did not possess a weapon when she decided that she must present her pistol.
 @FreerideNOT No, but tempting to force weeny in with out consent is rape and then she could shoot to kill as he would be using that thing as a weapon to commit a felony and to bring harm to her.or her child.
Another set of facts left out of the article or is it just better to make up "what if" statements that allow us to feel good about our behavior?
 @33 Why do you assume that she's in the wrong? Further investigation may raise questions about her actions but at this point, you seem to be speculating.