Saw something suspicious on the tube

[Eliza]

I saw something suspicious on the Tube this morning - a guy was acting really strangely and it made me ridiculously anxious and I didn't know what to do.

He snapped at me when my foot brushed against his, and was fidgeting really nervously with his rucksack. He then pulled his hood up and zipped it up so far that his face wasn't visible and was rubbing his hands and grunting weirdly. He might have just been anxious - he could have been suffering from PTSD or OCD or anything. But he made me incredibly nervous.

I texted the British Transport Police number, but now I feel guilty in case I was wasting their time or in case he gets stopped, and if it was anxiety I might have made it worse.

I can't stop shaking as it has brought back all kinds of awful memories.

Does this sound like hypervilligance, or do you think I did the right thing?

 

[Akhos]

Dont feel guilty - public information is essential as the police cant be everywhere and rely on the public to report suspicious incidents. Also, to you, it may be a "waste of time" but your information could be the final piece of a jigsaw puzzle for the authorities that you will never know about.

 

[Sandstone]

I think you did exactly the right thing.

I once reported unattended luggage on the train. It turned out to belong to someone who was sitting nearby, and I started a grovelling apology, but the conductor stopped me, and said he was grateful I'd bothered, and that it could have saved our lives.

The thing now is to regulate your reasonable anxiety. Do you have grounding techniques that work for you.

 

[Eliza]

Thanks. The attack I saw has messed with my head so much that I don't know if I'm seeing someone who's just a bit anxious, or seeing something genuinely suspicious. I feel like this time I was right to be suspicious.

I was so convinced his rucksack was going to explode that I went dizzy, and still feel sick even now over 2 hours later. I really, really thought something was going to happen.

I am trying to focus on work, but it's really hard - I can't concentrate and have a feeling something bad is going to happen.

I want to go home, but I don't think I can handle getting on the tube again.

 

[Akhos]

With your experience, I think your response is perfectly normal and acceptable. You did right reporting it, dont ever doubt yourself about that.

Sorry you are struggling today - hope you feel better soon

 

[Sandstone]

Have you told anyone at work? Sometimes talking helps, if you have a supportive colleague. Otherwise, I think this is a good time for chocolate.
Don't blame yourself for feeling as you do. I'm sure you already know that your body is primed to react to minor things as if they were major, but for something like this it was recognising potentially serious danger and getting you ready to run or fight. Now you need to reset it.

 

[Deleted member 37474]

Just recently my husband and I noticed a random camo backpack on the ground right next to the consessions counter at a sporting event. He reported it to the people and they did nothing, initially. I walked back to my seat wondering if it was going to explode.

I think it is normal for anyone to have these types of concerns.

 

[Deleted member 40995]

Thanks. The attack I saw has messed with my head so much that I don't know if I'm seeing someone who's ju...

Hi Eliza:hug: I think you were right to be suspicious, I would have been too. Sometimes trusting those instincts can save lives, you did the right thing:hug:
Maybe sit down and have some water, try and take some deep breaths, is there any way of getting home other then riding the tube again?

 

[Stephernovas]

if you're not sure about something or it seems off, it is perfectly fine to get a second opinion (aka. management/police). You are right in that there could have been numerous things going on for this individual. I used to work at a shelter house were individuals have exhibited strange behaviours. Some we began to notice as 'normal' for that individual - i.e. personality, medications, mental illness (exhibiting strange symptoms, but harmless), physical illness/brain injury, and so on, so we didn't respond as it was an emergency.

However, sometimes we were notified of things and were thankful for it. These things that others saw were things we might've/did miss, but were imperative that we addressed it - i.e. intoxication, overdose, mental illness (unmedicated and exhibiting symptoms that were a danger to themselves or others), violence, and etc.

Letting others know something is 'wrong' or seemingly 'off' is helpful. We are all humans and sometimes we need help. This person could've not realized what was happening (DID, or panic, or overdose - who knows - after all, we don't really know we are struggling until it's pointed out that our behaviour is abnormal), or they could've been planning to hurt someone.

I feel like I'm rambling, and I'm getting anxious because I'm about to walk out the door to my therapy appointment but I hope this all makes sense! Keep noticing, and keep speaking up. We are all humans and need to have each other's backs. Never know what you might've just prevented. Although I will say, as long as you are not doing it in a judgemental/ignorant manner, you're fine :)

 

[Eliza]

Thank you for all your support folks.
The incident has really shaken me and I have been too anxious to go into work yesterday or today.
I didn’t realise that this was why - I couldn’t put my finger on why I was so anxious. But it all came out in therapy today, that it is almost certain that events on Friday caused it - I saw a lot of police on my way home as well, so i’m assuming that contributed too.
I’m hoping to get into work tomorrow. I told my colleagues I had a sickness bug. I feel awful for lying and the thought of being caught is making me even more anxious. But I can’t imagine they would understand if I told them I literally couldn’t leave the house. It was like a physical reaction. I just couldn’t do it.

 

[Friday]

I texted the British Transport Police number, but now I feel guilty in case I was wasting their time or in case he gets stopped, and if it was anxiety I might have made it worse.

Okay, let's run this for a second. Your first thought, and what you acted on? Was completely reasonable and rational. See something, say something; you did your civic duty in helping keep yourself and everyone around you safe. That's a GOOD thing.

What if he's a bomber? > Texted

But now your mind is spinning out in other what ifs

What if he's fine but simply has anxiety?
What if I'm wasting people's time?
What if...

Okay, I'm going to add another "what if".

What if he's a security services officer running a vigilance check?

Vigilance checks (different names in different countries) are part of the drills that the police, EMS, & security services run to check response time. To see how much they can depend on the average person to be paying attention to suspicious activity. The UK tends to be really solid with this (the US? Pfft. Passersby are as likely to add to the problem. But we also don't have a history of over 10,000 bomb attacks.)

It's AS LIKELY that the bloke was a security officer trying to look suspicious, to see how long it would take people on the tube to notify authorities so they could do something, as he was an anxiety sufferer.

One of those "what ifs" is someone being miserable.
One of those "what ifs" is someone being proud of you for doing your part.

You'll never know (since a bomb didn't go off) if he was a bomber, suffered anxiety, or was a security officer. Or any of the other dozens and dozens of possibilities. But what you DO know? You won't be asking yourself "What if I'd said something? Could I have helped save lives?" If a bomb had gone off.

You did well.

Truly.

 

[Freida]

but now I feel guilty in case I was wasting their time or in case he gets stopped, a

\

From the law enforcement side of the house: I would rather send 100 officers to check out something that turns out to be nonsense than to NOT send one officer to something that ends up killing 100 people. You did the right thing.