A suspected flasher got quite the surprise last week when he picked on the wrong woman — a Massachusetts mother and former member of the Israeli military.
The mother, identified only by her first name, Aia, told reporters she was on a run along Memorial Drive in Cambridge at around 7 a.m. last Thursday when a man jogging toward her exposed himself, according to a report from Patch. At first, she thought it was unintentional. But then he exposed himself a second time.
Surveillance footage then showed Aia chasing the man. Once she caught up to him, Aia pinned him down and questioned him while she attempted to call 911. Ultimately, the suspected flasher was able to get away, but authorities are now looking for him.
While police made clear they don’t typically encourage victims to pursue their alleged attackers, they admitted this case was a little different.
“Obviously, we would prefer someone to call 911, so that we can respond,” Trooper James DeAngelis told Patch. “She reacted in the blink of an eye what she felt was the best form of action. Good for her; I think she put the fear of God in the guy.”
What about Aia?
She told members of the press her alleged attacker “picked the wrong victim.”
“All I want,” she added, “is for women to stand up for themselves and for passersby to get involved.”
Aia said she was stunned at the fact other bikers and runners ignored her repeated requests for assistance, urging them to call 911 on her behalf.