DH has been sprayed with red dye!

[Mojit0]

This morning DH was running along the Thames towpath as he often does. He was running quite fast as he's training. There is an area where the path narrows a bit and he had caught up and was running behind a woman. He thought she moved to one side to let him pass, so he ran up behind her, at which point she screamed and suddenly sprayed him with a spray! Most of it got on his t-shirt but some of it also also got on his neck and lower face, though he didn't realise at the time. She screamed at him to get away from her and then ran back the other way. He was saying to her, "It's ok" etc, but he said she was so freaked out and looked so terrified he didn't try and follow her.
Now he has a zig-zag pattern of red up his neck and on the left side if his face and it really won't come off. He went into work and someone told him its probably a dye that the police use to mark criminals! I looked on google and it looks as if you can buy a red spray dye that won't wash off for 7 days! If it's this, it's a nightmare as he has to go to China on business tomorrow.
DH feels bad that she was so scared and her reaction actually scared him. He thinks maybe he should have held back, but he thought she was letting him overtake her. I think her reaction was a bit extreme though -AIBU? I run down that path frequently (although not at 6.30am) and I have never heard of anything like this.

To be honest, if the footpath narrows then he would have been close.

SaucyJack "What on Earth is the point in it anyway? If you're that scared of strangers, learn Muay Thai or carry a knife."

Carry a knife? If she'd done that she would have stabbed the OP's husband!

What support lost and from who? She will be waiting months if not years on the NHS.

So she should have assumed he was harmless ? That assumption gets women into real trouble...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-39717724

How exactly does a woman distinguish between the nice friendly jogger running up behind her or the sick bugger in the link ? It's not her fault that women still continue to be assualted in this way nor is it her fault that she's alert to the possibility of attack.

Also the time of day clearly doesn't matter.

PaintingOwls "I'm shocked at the amount of victim-blaming on this thread."

The rest of your post shows that you regard the woman as the victim! She isn't. The OP's husband is!

It was assault. Tell DH to report it.

The spray does not have a reach of 30ft, that is nonsense

If she's that scared she shouldn't be out of the house without a minder. You can't go around spraying people in the face with chemicals no matter what her previous experience might be.

I would report and hope someone get her some serious psychological help.

OP why didn't your husband report it immediately?

@Blistory

So she should have assumed he was harmless?

Of fucking course she should. It's the basis of modern society.

I would report and hope someone get her some serious psychological help.

From where? It's not a case of asking for help and getting it (I was one of the lucky ones and it only took 4 years to get me into the specialist treatment I need (and then when I got there I managed to get a spot wihtout going onto the year long waiting list but that's because I was so unwell I was about to lose everything in my life).

It's victim-blaming rhetoric. Don't go running at 6.30am. Don't get drunk. Don't wear short skirts.

It's all part of controlling and restricting women's behaviour. And as I said in my post, the time of day doesn't matter when it comes to assault. She didn't know OP's husband was innocently trying to get past, she panicked. And if she carries the dye I'll bet she has reason for doing so, just like I have a reason for clutching my keys between my knuckles when I walk home from work in the dark.

The spray doesn't have a reach of 30ft.

For it to make a concentrated Z mark he must have been very, very close to her - it dispereses quite rapidly once it's fired by design to ensure at least some hits the person.

I agree with some PPs, if this happened to DP I'd be encouraging him to report it to the police. He often goes running on towpaths round here and should be able to overtake people without being sprayed with red dye.

"Victim blaming" painting?!? The victim here is the OP's husband. Not the paint spraying woman. Regardless of what issues she has, she can't go around spraying people with red dye ffs.

And should he assumes he was harmless blistory?! Off course she bloody well should have. You can't go around assuming all men are horrible rapists until proven otherwise. He was running. Like lots of people are prone to do along canals. Nothing dodgy or suspicious about that.

I'm painfully aware of the lack of help available for people with MH issues, believe me.

That doesn't mean someone shouldn't try to point this woman in the direction of help.

It's entirely possible to be sympathetic to the husband whilst still acknowledging that there are very real and valid reasons for women to respond this way.

OP, have you read UppityHumpty's post at 17:40?

I think the problem was he ran behind her instead of just overtaking her.

Fast running behind you, then it slows down and runs behind you for a while, which would have freaked her out.

Thank you, Blistory

Hasn't the penalty for carrying a knife been increased

at the image of a load of red men lining up at the police station for a scrubbing with magic dye removal potion.

just like I have a reason for clutching my keys between my knuckles when I walk home from work in the dark.

... and if you turned around and stabbed some unlucky person who happened to walk past you they THEY would be the victim, not you.

It's not victim-blaming to say that if someone running up behind you triggers you into total panic you should run somewhere there is plenty of room to overtake, not a towpath. There are plenty of places where you can run outside with lots of space around you, even in London.