A stranger threatened to "shoot" me today when I was with my child. was I being unreasonable to call 999?

[BlackFriYay]

I was on my way to collect DC from school, toddler was with me on reins. The seats were full so we went upstairs where there was only a few seats left, next to other passengers.

I sat on the nearest one and put toddler on my knee, I didn't pay any attention to who I was sitting next to as i was sitting sideways with my feet in the aisle and my back to the person occupying the window seat. Toddler was squirming a bit and wanted to get down so as soon as another double seat became available we moved across there.

A man sitting in the area we moved from started playing loud music through his phone, some daft parody song on repeat.

As our stop approached I got up, lifted the little one and was walking towards the stairs, past the strange bloke with the music. As I passed him he said not to ever sit next to him again or he'll shoot me in the face. Confused as hell, I looked up as we got to the stairs to see if he was talking to me and he was. He then said "oh is that a woman?" IE me, then added "never mind I'm still going to do it" whilst making shot gun gestures toward me.

I couldn't get down the stairs quick enough and tried to tell the driver what had happened but he could barely hear me through the plastic. I didn't want a scene I just wanted to get as far away from the prick as I could.

In a panic I called 999 which I'm not sure was the right thing to do or not, perhaps 101 would have been more appropriate. They've made an appointment to come and see me at home on Tuesday which is the earliest appointment they have.

I asked whether they're going to make any attempt to look for the man as he seems dangerous threatening lone women with children. They said they'd circulate his description and If any officers see him they will talk to him?!

Do you think that is sufficient? Am I blowing this way out of proportion?

I felt so, so vulnerable and scared but they don't seem to think it's anything major.

Lol I am in London! I'm not from here though. I've been fortunate to not be on the receiving end of anything like it until today. I'm not sure I'll feel confident about using busses for a while if this is such a common thing.

Are londoners really desensitised to things like this? That's crazy to me, he was really scary 😬

YABU - you get random nutters about. Calling 999 is a waste of police time, could have stopped someone in genuine danger getting through.

Random nutters do kill though, it’s great you know how to tell the difference!

I lived in London for 4 years and no-one ever threatened to shoot me. In fact I’ve managed to get to the grand old age of 45 and have never been threatened with being shot.

@BlackFriYay i was born & raised in a then v.dodgy part of London so i’m pretty good at not getting into situations that might escalate but it’s not normal. Although I do know people who have been shot..

But a bus has more crazies than the tube & the upstairs will have more crazies than the downstairs, obviously route & time dependent

Very very rarely and almost never in the circumstances OP describes.

She called 999 when off the bus (the random nutter stayed on the bus). Exactly what danger do you think she was in?

Of course the police should be involved, what a prick

Did you do the most important thing and tell the police the bus registration plate?

Not that they'd have time to send anyone out to deal with it, but there's just the teeniest chance they might look at the CCTV but I doubt it unfortunately.

You are not blowing the incident out of proportion.

I'm glad you called 999.

Was there no emergency button or cord on the bus? I would have pushed/pulled it once downstairs if I had been in your shoes.

I've been living in London for thirty years and I don't drive. I can count on the fingers of one hand the times that I've had aggro from weirdos on public transport. I've never had anyone threaten to kill me.

I do agree with you, in hindsight 101 would have been more appropriate. I was just so shaken up I thought given the context of the threat they would take it seriously and want to get somebody like that locked up.

Do you not think it's messed up how we are just supposed to deal with these things though? If a lack of resources is the reason for threats to kill not being taken seriously then I'm surprised we aren't seeing twice as much crime as we are.

It's like a green light for ill willed people to say and do whatever they want.

Reply attached to wrong quote so removed.

When I read your OP, I was going to comment and say, ‘sounds like a normal day in South London’ and then I saw you’re in Catford.

Catford is literally full of nutters. I’m surprised you called 999 when people in that area are so strange. The only reason I wouldn’t have done anything is because you were on a bus and were able to get off. Reporting it to 101 is a good idea though.

I think expecting the police to track the bus down and stop it is a bit much. If he had an actual weapon which you saw then of course

I'm going to remember this!

@Speckledpasta Im asking how you know the difference between a nutter who says they will hurt you & won’t & one who will? I don’t know what danger she was in, I wasn’t there. I just can’t say she was definitely not in any danger & blocking up emergency lines 🙄

Possibly, but that doesn't mean he should be ignored if he makes threats like this.
There are far to many cases of mentally ill people who have made threats and not been taken seriously and then go on to kill or injure others. An example would be the young man who threw the child off the outside stone balcony at the Tate and almost killed him, and left him with terrible injuries. He had threatened numerous times to hurt and kill other people for no reason- including that morning.
In the instance with the OP, he may also be someone on drugs, or just an idiot who thinks this kind of behaviour is cool in some way- like 'gangsta' behaviour.
OP has done the right thing by reporting this to the police. She should also contact the bus company to ensure and CCTV footage is kept.

Catford is literally full of nutters. Defo a higher % there

It's all right and mighty fine until the random nutter has a bottle of acid or a knife in his possession.

I'd always report.

Yes that's fair I understand you were shaken up.

Honestly he may not even be mentally ill, just a nasty person.

He hasn't actually committed a crime. Threats to kill is only a crime if you had reason to believe he would do it. Given (presumably) there was no indication he had a weapon, he doesn't know you or where you live and he stayed in his seat I can't see any reason for him to fulfil that criteria.

The police can't track down or arrest every weirdo or nasty person.

Lemme finish, that's your own personal experience of public transport - not actual fact

Unfortunately not, I didn't get it.

I've got the exact time, route and location If that's any good. It shouldn't be too hard for TFL to identify the bus I wouldn't have thought.

Well why don't you try thinking about the questions I asked you in my previous post? What on earth would make you feel in danger when you are on the pavement away from this person who is travelling away from you on a bus?

@Allfur of course it’s my personal view! Where have I claimed it was fact? 😆

That is terrifying, you poor thing. Whether he was mentally ill or not is irrelevant, the Nottingham murderer was apparently mentally ill and he shouldn't have been out on the streets.

You definitely did the right thing but I doubt they will actually investigate it unfortunately, but at least it's being registered

No it’s not ridiculous at all! Many women or even men feel uncomfortable travelling late at Night. It may not even be as extreme as violent or threat of violence but there’s frequently unsettling and unsavoury behaviour on public transport. I don’t even drive but I think it’s perfectly understandable why people avoid public transport for fear of things like this. If you don’t have empathy for them that’s up to you but I totally get it.