It was pretty scary though. I was at my local chain store getting some odds and ends, and then I was outside enjoying a drink I had bought. Then two high-school aged guys came out, very loud, crude, and rude. Probably the filthiest mouths I've heard in a long time, even for a factory worker like me that's heard a lot of colorful remarks. Obviously this caught my attention right away.

A young girl their age went out to join the two, and the poor girl looked scared to death, for good reason. The older-looking guy cursed at the girl, saying she had driven them and told her to find where they parked, and to also give him his stuff. She got something out of their bag - candy? - then hesitated when she tried to find her car keys. WHAM - the guy hits her upside the head for her trouble, and she could only glue her eyes to the ground after that, as he cursed at her some more. The two kids chuckled at this, and I couldn't believe it. I've never seen such callousness, especially so close to Christmas.

When they got to their car and pulled around I took my pen and pad I have on my EDC and wrote down the plate number (it was easy to read and remember, a vanity plate) and the car make. Then me and the security guard (he saw what happened as well) went to the service desk to report what had happened, and after reporting this to the police, they got the camera footage. After all this was said and done I left my contact info for both the cops and the service desk in case they needed to contact me again.

I hope they nail this punk and the poor girl can be convinced to press charges. I don't mean to put a damper on anybody's holiday, but I just wanted to share my story here and maybe get some thoughts if I did the right thing. Looking back I'm glad I was prepared with just the right tools to help out and be a good samaritan.

Anybody want me to keep you guys posted, if this story has a happy ending?

You did the right thing. If they were just loitering outside the store, maybe throwing out the occasional cuss word, I wouldn't have given it a second thought (pretty normal teenage behavior). But, there is no excuse for a guy whacking a girl upside the head like that.

By taking the steps you did, you may have prevented something far worse from happening to the girl. Its sounds like some kind of abusive relationship that can never be good.

You did the right thing. If you had actually confronted them at the time things could have gone very bad. I've seen situations when a woman being abused turned against a samaritan trying to help. Any kind of domestic/relational situation is volatile. Good judgment on your part. Cudo's.

Agreed, you responded appropriately.

The temptation to bash heads together is strong in the moment; but that puts you square in the middle of a situation with dynamics you know nothing about. Too often these messes span many generations. And the bashing, while initially satisfying, may not in fact be the most helpful move in the long run.

That said, as a citizen of a democracy, it's your right and responsibility to speak up when wrongs are being committed. IMHO, if you shirk the responsibility, you erode the right.

If nothing else, it's worth building a paper trail on these characters. We all can guess where they're headed. It gives the police and the courts a better picture of the pattern of behaviour (i.e., a slick lawyer couldn't argue that it's an accidental, one-time thing that won't happen again).

You did the right thing in the right way. I agree with Blitz, if you had tried to intercede, you would have been fighting 3 not 2, because the female will almost always defend the lunkheads who are abusing her.

Remember, the strangest animals on this planet all get around on two legs, primarily. (beware of bi-pedals)

Thanks for the feedback guys! I wholeheartedly support the comments thus far. It's reassuring, but I still hope the girl is going to be OK. Hopefully the girl's parents are proactive and will keep her seperated from these creeps...

Kudos on the response!! I agree that trying out some of my martial arts skills would have been great fun in that instance. But that would have gone against the first principle we learned in said training "The best fight is the one that never happens" You did everything you needed to do.

Also, since you were most likely not noticed by the punks you will probably not be targeted for retaliation later.

We can only make supplication to the Almighty that she and others like her will be able to be removed from those situations.

Again, kudos for doing the right thing.

As several of my cop friends have told me, "it's better to be a good witness".

More often than I would like to admit, I find myself forgetting about an article of my EDC that would really help in situations like that: the video capability of my camera phone. Quite possibly the best witness ever.