A TikTok user known for documenting her progress leading up to a half-marathon shared a chilling video that showed her being followed by a man in a car during one of her runs - once again bringing the importance of women's safety into the spotlight.

Samantha McIntyre is no stranger to posting on the video-sharing platform, regularly keeping her followers up-to-date on how her journey to running a half-marathon is progressing to her 318,000 followers. This run, however, was different than usual - with the experience making her "really nervous."

In the viral video - which has over two million likes - the 24-year-old notices the same red truck passing her multiple times.

"There's this guy in a red car that's driven by me twice, and every time he drives by me he has his arm out the window and he's, like, looking behind when he's driving by... it's making me really nervous," she says in the video, halfway through her run.

"I haven't seen him in 10 minutes, but I don't know if I'm being paranoid. Just documenting this, just in case," she adds.

Following this, McIntyre describes the model and make of the car. In the next clip, she says that the car is parked up ahead of the track, which made her "nervous" - especially as she says in the video that she needs to pass the suspicious driver on the way back to her own vehicle.

McIntyre shows viewers a small clip of the car parked under a tree in the distance, before stating: "It's just one of those things where you think it's not going to happen to you [...] I don't want to risk anything."

She then ends up calling her parents to come and pick her up, crying to the camera and sobbing: "I don't know what to do."

Upon seeing the car beginning to pull out of its parked position, the fast-thinking woman runs to a nearby house and asks the owners if she can wait in their yard for her parents. Police located the man but no charges against him have been filed.

This situation is all too familiar with most women, who always have to be cautious and hyper-aware of their surroundings when going out alone, regardless of the time of day.

Some men have even joked about stalking women as "harmless psychological fun," with one person posting on an old Reddit thread that they liked to stalk women to deliberately scare them - despite not wishing to harm them.

"The feeling when you follow a girl and she notices you, and she tries to [lose] you or picks up the pace. That is kind of a good feeling. You become important to her. You are no longer some random insignificant face in the crowd [...] If you know your limits and don't actually harass - let alone rape - that girl, it should be harmless psychological fun," the post read.

Credit: Reddit.com

McIntyre's video serves as a stark reminder to all women to trust their gut feeling - especially as her frightening experience came weeks after 34-year-old Eliza Fletcher, from Memphis, Tennessee, was kidnapped and murdered while on a morning jog, TODAY reported.

"Please be aware of your surroundings when you are going on runs. Carry protection with you, just be safe. If you have a gut feeling that something doesn't feel right please go with that gut feeling," McIntyre added at the end of her video.

While the ideal situation would be that women wouldn't have to constantly be super vigilant as soon as they leave the safety and comfort of their homes, the current world we all live in still requires us to do this. After all, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Featured image credit: Dmitrii Melnikov / Alamy

A reporter covering the Daunte Wright protests was captured on camera being forced to flee and hide after gunfire broke out nearby.

Good Morning Britain North American correspondent Noel Phillips was forced to halt his segment and run for cover while reporting on the protests against the police shooting in Minnesota.

In the broadcast in question, Phillips described a "growing crisis' and "a very tense standoff between protesters and police" over the killing of unarmed Wright on Sunday, April 11.

Gunshots then became audible in the background midway through the coverage. A voice could then be heard shouting "get out now!"

Phillips and the camera crew fled to safety and were later able to continue their segment.

Phillips later told viewers: "We heard 20 to 30 gunshots fired from a group of men towards the police."

Later in the program, the journalist reassured the audience by revealing that he was wearing protective body armor during filming. Phillips stated:

"We saw gunshots being fired, and as a precaution, while doing this job we tend to wear body armor to protect ourselves."

The Mail reports that hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Brooklyn Center for a second night on Monday, defying a curfew imposed by the mayor.

The crowds gathered outside the local police headquarters to oppose the death of 20-year-old Wright, who was fatally shot by police officer Kim Potter.

According to bodycam footage from the incident, Wright was pulled over for a traffic violation and was then shot when Potter allegedly mistook her firearm for her taser.

The protests led to the mayors of Minneapolis and the neighboring town of St. Paul declaring a regional state of emergency and putting a curfew in place from 7:00PM to 6:00AM local time.

Riot police deployed to the scene of the protests asked the demonstrators to disperse, but the protestors refused to comply. Police deployed tear gas and stun grenades to break up the crowds.

The shooting was made all the more galling to outraged members of the black community due to it taking place in the midst of the ongoing trial against former cop Derek Chauvin, who faces murder charges over the death of George Floyd.

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I once worked in an office where an old WWII bomb was discovered underneath the building. I remember it making national news and being absolutely frightened that I was going to get blown up by this warhead (despite the fact it hadn't detonated in over 50 years). One thing I wouldn't have ever dreamt of doing though, is running off with it on my shoulder. The idea that there was a bomb underneath me was enough to scare me s**tless, so there would be no chance you could get me to touch it, let alone put it on my shoulder (where it is likely to bounce around) and run 1km over mounds and hills with it. However, that is exactly what one man has done. Incredible footage, which can be seen below, has been captured of a heroic police constable sprinting hundreds of yards with a live 10kg (20lb) bomb on his shoulder, in an attempt to save the lives of over 400 school children, and unsurprisingly the video has gone viral. Head constable Abhishek Patel grabbed the bomb from the grounds of a local school and decided to bravely run with it on his shoulder in Chitora, a village in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Patel ran close 1km with the bomb attached to him before throwing it down a drain in the middle of the countryside. It's believed that the bomb had to potential to cause damage in a 1,500ft radius, so Patel wanted to get it as far away from populated areas as he could.

Speaking about the incident, Patel said: "Nearly 400 students were present on the campus when the bomb was found. Anything could have happened. "I wanted to take the bomb away from the school and the residential area in order to reduce the danger of collateral damage if the bomb exploded. "Had the bomb gone off it would have caused damage in a 500-meter area. I was afraid that the bomb may explode so I took it away from the populated area.” Patel says it was the first time he had ever discovered a bomb and the father-of-two said he was well aware of the risks he was taking by running with it. "It was a risky job and could have taken my life as well. "I did it to save the lives of hundreds of children who were present in the school. They are our future." The police reached the site of the bomb shortly after the call was made, although it is still not known who planted the bomb at the school and what their motivations for doing so were. Inspector General of the Police, Sagar Saxena, spoke to the press about the incident, saying: "We are investigating to find out who planted the bomb.” In appreciation for Patel's bravery, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan awarded Patel £607 in recognition for his heroic actions. What a man, and what an act of bravery.

A woman who was relentlessly stalked by a man she met only once during a job interview has come forward to share her terrifying experience in the new BBC Three documentary To Catch A Stalker.

Jen, a recruitment consultant from the UK, recounts the chilling ordeal that began in March 2022 when a man applied for a job she had posted online.

After a brief interaction and a job offer, his behavior quickly turned obsessive, sparking a campaign of harassment that left her fearing for her life.

The woman was stalked following a brief job interview. Credit: rudi_suardi/Getty Images

The story is part of a powerful series hosted by Love Island alum Zara McDermott, who meets with victims of stalking and domestic abuse to raise awareness of the long-lasting psychological toll these crimes can inflict.

Jen’s experience began innocently enough; a job listing and a brief interview. But within days, she began receiving frequent and overly familiar text messages from the man, as if they were in a relationship, MailOnline details.

“He would text me updates like, ‘It’s 5am, I’m heading here and stopping there,’ like we were best friends,” she said. “I didn’t respond, but the messages kept coming, morning, night, middle of the night. Then it got personal.”

Soon, the man began sending intimate images of himself and disturbing voice notes, whispering bizarre and frightening declarations of love. One message said: “My love for you is in my brain, not in my manhood. I am the guy you are looking for. I want you so bad.”

The harassment escalated further, he began sending her his location, urging her to meet him, and monitoring her as though they were in a relationship. “It was so creepy. I found out he was making porn searches for women who looked like me. I was scared he would attack me,” Jen revealed.

Just five days into the messages, his tone turned aggressive and threatening. In one voice note, he raged: “A young capable guy who is in love with you, and you threw me overboard. Who are those people? None of them care for you.”

Despite reporting him to the police several times and presenting substantial evidence, Jen said the man was only ever given short prison sentences, allowing the cycle of abuse to continue. He has been arrested four times and is currently behind bars, but his release is imminent.

“Every time he’s released, it’s the same,” she said. “Once, he called me two hours after getting out. Bought a phone, called me, said: ‘Hi baby, it’s me.’ He doesn’t respect the law. He said in a police interview, ‘I want to break her.’ And I am broken.”

Jen's sister, Sam, described the constant fear the family lives in, knowing his release is approaching. “The restraining orders mean nothing to him. He’ll come straight to her,” she said. “She’s stopped eating, she can’t sleep. She’s scared to take sleeping pills in case he turns up.”

Through tears, Sam added: “Without real intervention, he’ll kill her. I honestly believe that.”

Jen’s story is just one of several featured in To Catch A Stalker, a raw and emotional series that shines a light on the real-life trauma of stalking victims and the legal system’s shortcomings in protecting them.

The woman recounted her experience with a stalker. Credit: Kinga Krzeminska / Getty Images.

Reflecting on the series, Zara said it was one of her most emotional projects yet. “I was so moved by the bravery of these women. I just hope it opens up important conversations about stalking and helps push for stronger protections.”

Featured image credit: Faba-Photography / Getty Images.

A woman has taken to TikTok to share advice as to how women can defend themselves in the face of attempted assault.

While no woman should have to worry about their safety in public, Alysha Flynn —who is the owner of a female running club — took to the social media platform to share some ways in which she stays safe when running alone.

As she stresses in the video, this isn't just for keen joggers — they can be used anytime, whenever you feel uncomfortable or threatened.

Credit: Giulio Benzi / Alamy

In the video, the fitness coach shared some key advice to her followers that she had learned from one of the women in her running club, who also works as a self-defense coach.

Showing some seriously impressive multi-tasking skills, she said while jogging: "It has to be what's best for you as an individual. The tool only works if you're trained, confident, and prepared to use it" — referencing pepper spray.

"If you've never used it before, could that actually put you in more danger than not having it with you?" she questioned, before explaining, "Now imagine that it was a taser or a pocket knife, and you are not trained and unprepared to use it. No matter what you choose, you have to be ready to use it and to protect yourself if it ever got turned on you."

"So it makes less about what tool is best and more about which one are you confident using," she added.

Sage advice indeed.

This comes after another runner advised women to never use the same route consecutively.

"Not every single college girl or young adult woman comes from the same background and same mindsets when it comes to safety and having street smarts and street sense," she said in the TikTok video, which also went viral.

"It is important for us, as young women, to get comfortable with the idea and mindset of being consistently inconsistent with where we run our errands, what we do and how we do it," she continued.

"The people that are out here with the intentions of participating in sex trafficking, kidnapping, raping, etc – they are looking for specific targets, the oblivious, the ones that don't have awareness, and the ones that don't have street smarts."

"So, when you are shopping for errands and going to the gym, and going to your favourite coffee shop and brunch spot, you are becoming consistent for someone who is tracking you. You need to be so consistent with being inconsistent that you are then too difficult for them. It's too much effort to try and track you.

"You need to be going to different coffee shops all the time, don't go to the Target that's right next to your house, do different things. Spread it out. Drive the extra miles to run errands and the next week, don't go there anymore."

"Prioritize your safety because people live day in and out trying to harm others," she concluded.

Feature image credit: Stephen R. Johnson / Alamy