A Glasgow mother was followed and felt terrified after a man tried to lead her towards a dark underpass.
Gemma Zaharoff, age 35, left the dentist around 11:20 am on February 25 and walked on Atlas Road in Springburn when a man yelled at her near Cowlairs Road, asking for gym directions but staring at her intently.
He seemed uninterested in her directions and blocked her path to the main road before guiding her toward an underpass and asking personal questions, which made Gemma feel uneasy.
She turned around after hearing the man ask where the gym was and, although his English wasn’t perfect, she clearly understood him. Gemma gestured to give directions but noticed his staring and movements.
He blocked her way to the main road, wanting her to walk toward the underpass, and questioned where she resided, wondering if she was alone, then he asked to be friends but she avoided the queries and said no, telling him she didn’t know him.
Then he asked for her phone number, saying he wanted to “hook up” with her, but Gemma refused and mentioned her marriage.
Gemma worried and turned toward her car, phoning her sister for support and snapping a picture of the man as he followed her to the passenger side.
She felt trapped in her vehicle, fearing he’d enter if she unlocked it and worried he’d chase her if she left.
He asked for her number repeatedly, wanting to “hook up,” and requested to visit her, asking about her friends. Gemma wanted him to leave but he kept asking her questions, refusing to go anywhere with him and wanting inside to lock the doors, but he blocked her.
She sent his picture to her sister quickly, fearing something could happen, and panicked, remembering a recent attack nearby.
Gemma was shaken when the man finally walked away from her and people reported seeing him in the area, which she saw in online reports.
One woman saw him standing there twice, and Gemma wondered if he waited for her, finding it very scary and quite a shock. It affects you, she realized, and when she went to a shop later, a similar-looking man stood behind her and she jumped back.
Another woman had a similar experience as a man matching the description bothered her some days before and Gemma warned the dentist staff because they park in that same area.
The man tried to hide his identity, wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a snood with all-black clothing, leading Gemma to say gym clothes are different and that this outfit helps him avoid being identified.
Gemma stopped her daughter from going to dance alone since she goes to a class in that same area, fearing for her daughter’s safety because similar attacks happened recently.
Gemma feels like she reduces her daughter’s freedom, and it still makes Gemma nervous because the city is getting worse and this sort of incident is increasingly common.
People commented online, she said, and she thinks he has done this before, worrying he will target younger, weaker people and her vulnerable daughter might be a target. Someone may be attacked at that underpass soon because it’s dark and has no cameras.
Other women report being followed in Glasgow and some have been assaulted in the city recently. A woman was raped at Garscube Road’s underpass around 8 p.m. on February 3 and the police investigate the shocking incident, stating that their enquiries continue.