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Is he an old man? There’s a crazy old guy who has chased me and my partner on several separate occasions between metro center and Mt. Vernon. I’ve also seen him harass people at CVS and Streets Market. A complete menace.

Young guy, maybe mid to late 20s. Short, maybe 5’ 3”.

I am almost certain this is the same guy who was sleeping under my building's covered (but open) parking area. Def a short young guy, but his hair adds a few inches? He actually came across "friendly" to me but then followed me to my car asking for cash - literally hand on my door and super intimidating. I told him I'd get cash and come back and he backed off but one of the only times I've actually been scared living here.

Was it near the convention center? He was talking about his grandmother and sounded pretty unhinged.

3 blocks away; this happened a few months ago but I've seen the guy around the Giant more than a few times recently.

He’s dangerous. He won’t stop following you—I would recommend running.

If you legitimately think this man is in mental health crisis, calling the DC Department of Behavioral Health Access HelpLine at (888) 793-4357 can help connect him with mental health services 24x7. It’s probably a better solution than going on Reddit and recommending “running.”

When someone lunges at me and screams "faggot" because I said I didn't want him following me, I'm running, thanks.

A perfectly understandable and reasonable reaction! But I’m pretty sure that fella is not on this subreddit, so he isn’t going to see your post, and tomorrow he’ll just keep doing what he’s been doing. Unless of course someone who can describe him and his behavior and location calls to get him some mental health care.

I'll give you a description if you'd like to make the call.

Sure, go for it. Include where you saw him, what he was wearing, what he was doing, what time it was, what direction he was going, etc.

It baffles me when people post stuff like this and NEVER describe the person.

It’ll be like “this dude slapped me in the face. There’s a guy going around noma slapping peoples faces, it’s crazy. Watch out everyone, he’s wearing a SHIRT”

Just describe the homeless guy!! Why even post if you aren’t going to be helpful about it?

He’s African American, mid to late 20s, under 5’5”, and last I saw was wearing a red shirt and jeans. He generally will walk towards you and will then walk closely next to you, asking you for money. He will not let you walk away from him and displayed extreme anger at a moment’s notice.

Last see at 9th and L NW.

See my below comment—after I ran, didn’t see where he went.

Yeah they do that here. Won’t ever actually put hands on you but will do just about everything else

Thank you! More people need to do this, I applaud you for doing it! And stay safe

I made the call but could not answer all the questions since I didn’t actually see the guy. Saving that number in your phone would be a good resource in case you run into him again. Or encounter anyone who seems to be in crisis. We are fortunate to have an alternative to 911 for situations like this and it‘s more effective when people actually use it.

I had a run in with this man about a month ago. The mention of the grandma reminded me of it! I was walking down M st. and he followed me for several blocks. He wasn’t aggressive towards me but I could not get him to stop walking alongside me. Luckily it was broad daylight and a very kind individual diverted his attention away from me and I picked up my speed and got away from the situation. A scary position to be in, glad you were also able to get away safely.

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It’s because people on this subreddit are sensitive, they are terrified of potentially being called a racist. It’s incredibly stupid… they’ll go on and on without providing a description of the suspect/harasser/perpetrator.

It’s fucking insane to me. I saw a hop in IRL, 2 black teenagers stole an elderly black lady’s car and I was talking to the cops. The lady was like “you saw them right? Two black teenagers right?! Of course it was! Ugh!!!!” Like bro it’s just an identifier. Saying someone is black, Asian, Hispanic, white, in itself isn’t racist. It’s so annoying!!

This is why I carry pepper spray

That said, if there's a threat or reasonable concern for safety they'll dispatch a CIT trained officer. They're a great resource but I've called them because a man made a vague threat to stab a person if he didn't get money or to harm himself and they essentially said 'at this point that's a 911 call' and politely but firmly got me off their line with an offer to transfer to 911 or allow me to call directly.

I appreciate your commitment to the resource but people should be aware it's not always the right one and you may be delaying getting help for yourself or others if the situation involves a threat.

I think I actually had an encounter with this guy, in Logan Circle on P Street in December. I was walking minding my own business and he came up next to me with a horrible gash on his hand asking me if he should go to a hospital. I didn't realize the situation at first and made the mistake of telling him yes, he should go to a hospital, or he's at risk of losing the hand. He took my response as an invitation to follow me around asking for $8, eventually getting a bit more aggressive then giving up. His eyes and his demeanor indicated he had been using drugs. I saw him again about a month ago, pestering people around 14th and K.

Not 100% it's the same guy, but the appearance and behavior are exactly the same. The sudden bursts of aggression are very concerning and people should be careful

EDIT: I just saw your other comment about him calling you a homophobic slur for not giving him money. He did the same to me for some reason, I really think it's the same guy

I recognize him, had to deal with him as well. Threatened to beat me up, which was a bit comical, all things considered.

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I had someone do this at Thomas Circle last year. He asked for money, I told him no, and he followed me for about a block and kept talking, “just because I do heroin doesn’t mean I don’t deserve kindness” and his comments escalated until he was calling me a white btch. We reached a corner and when he caught up to me as I waited for the crossing signal, I turned on my heel and walked in the opposite direction. He didn’t follow. No harm ultimately, but it was one of the more intimidating experiences I’ve had with a homeless person.

If the only descriptor you have is their race, then it probably is racist (as well as useless).

Go into a store people

> No harm ultimately, but it was one of the more intimidating experiences I’ve had with a homeless person.

Being intimidated in public is harm.

Fear mongering

I was once shoved hard by someone trying to enter my building, hard enough that I developed a bruise on my breastbone that lasted two weeks. After that nothing else feels like harm.

Does he have very long hair? This guy's physical and behavioral description sound familiar to me. I'm up by 7th and Florida.

No but it’s part of it

Yes I think so.

Yes obviously when there’s a reasonable expectation of violence or if a person is a threat to themselves or others, 911 is always a good call. However the bigger point is that complaining on Reddit might be cathartic but it doesn’t actually solve any problems. If a person — homeless or housed — is behaving erratically and showing signs of a mental health crisis, do something that might actually get them help. Otherwise it’s just idle bitching that further stigmatizes mental illness and homelessness without making anyone’s life better.

Ive always wondered if there are any examples in dc of an aggressive homeless person stepping to the wrong pedestrian and getting their ass whooped. Not ideal but i feel like its had to happen

I’ve seen that guy before, he sometimes lunges at people when they walk by but he has super slow reflexes. I always try to avoid him

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I think I encountered this guy as well, also near Thomas Circle. One day while it was raining he came up to me at 14th St and L st, asking to use my phone claiming his tent was on fire. When I declined he became very aggressive and threatened violence and followed me for a few blocks.

I agree there are more productive forums than Reddit for effecting social change. OP also clearly felt threatened. Advocacy and utilization of alternative resources is important. Passive aggressively chiding someone to use an alternative response while they're coming down from a sense of threat isn't generally effective advocacy in my experience. And because OP felt threatened use of 911 is inherently reasonable.

All of that assumes OP was seeking resolution when maybe OP just wanted an empathetic audience since they had a scary experience in our city.

This isn’t even about effecting social change though. This is about the general pointlessness of these “fear porn” style posts. There are better ways to elicit empathy, and if this strange man on the streets is such a threat that someone has to “come down” from an encounter with him, then leaving him on the streets puts other people at risk.

Bottom line : if it’s scary enough to make you feel like you have to alert everyone on Reddit, then it warrants a call to either the Police or mental health support services.

JFC.

1. DBMH will just send the cops because no one is trained or paid to deal with crazy and dangerous. Your boy Allen made sure nothing was transferred to DBMH.

2. Get help.

Are you unfamiliar with the layout of M street by the convention center past 9th? Also a solid LOLOL to that helping.

Bro is really gonna try to tell someone they haven’t experienced harm by misquoting the OED

Here’s what the OED actually says:

> harm, n. “evil (physical or otherwise) as done to or suffered by some person or thing; hurt, injury, damage, mischief. Often in the set phrase “to do more harm than good.”

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No but you seem more informative than the map I’m looking at. Probably about 10 places you could walk into? Could be 13. Is that not enough?

It’s not “fear porn.” I wanted to see if anyone had encountered this person.

Also, it seems like you’re blaming me instead of the man that followed me and lunged at me. Am I the problem here? I’m getting “holier-than-thou” feelings from you.

And surely warning people on Reddit is better than nothing? If I encounter the guy again, I’m calling the police and I’ll contact the mental health resource.

I’m pretty sure I’m familiar with this person. First time I met him he was outside the giant by 7th street a year or so ago. I was waiting for my friend to get done shopping and he approached me in a friendly manner, then got into his background story. He said he was 17 years old so like 18 now. He said he got kicked out of his home with no one to turn to for help, and was staying in one of the encampments but didn’t feel safe there. I felt bad and appreciated his honestly. Then he pleaded for me to get him something inside so I got him a couple drinks. He appreciated the soda but was a bit upset I didn’t get cash back for him.

I’ve had a couple friends have encounters with him that were more hostile with some verbal threats and trailing for a couple blocks. I ran into him last time a couple months ago outside the Whole Foods on P. He didn’t recognize me but he was eagerly following before I told him I’d give him some cash next time we ran into eachother but I didn’t even have my wallet on me at the time.

I understand it is concerning and frightening given the encounters listed here. I hope for everyone’s safety but I also hope he gets some help in some form that is effective and not just punitive. He’s basically still a just kid, who is clearly dealing with some serious issues. I don’t think he’s some seasoned criminal but I understand people act desperately in desperate times.

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My college a few years back announced they would no longer give any racially identifying information when sending out campus safety alerts.

Sounds like the same person that I have had my only negative interaction in the District with.

Does he have dreads?

Yes!

Yeah he came after me too. Very aggressive and shamed me for not giving him money. I capitulated because it was late and I had my dogs and didn’t want to risk anything happening.

This was outside the CVS on 14th and P.

He will follow you even if you don’t have money. It’s bad.

Yeah I know exactly who this guy is. I see him all the time around the convention center.

does he have a huge infection on the back of his head? If so I've almost got into a fist fight with him right outside of Georgetown in a coffee shop.

No I don’t think so!

Is it this guy? https://twitter.com/dougheye/status/1641487912863772696?s=46&t=0LcbQmGwQ8jM3r_rqpYjbA

No, not him. Much younger.

I find best practice is to completely ignore these types.

If you make eye contact or respond at all, they peg you as someone they can get a response from. More often that not, in the absence of eye contact & acknowledgement, they'll keep searching for another victim.

I've had many situations in which someone begins to start in with me or is sizing me up, I keep looking angrily ahead like the last type of asshole that's going to spare some change, they move on and then start heckling or chasing after someone who gives them a response or runs away.

Tl;DR: Avoid any type of tacit engagement with these people at all costs

This needs to be pinned.

I put my headphones in, and look straight, like a pissed off DCer. Don’t acknowledge, don’t respond. Look like you belong. All these folks commenting here that they are explaining why they can’t give money to the fella is the problem.

DONT ENGAGE

Ignoring is the only way. Then, and only then, if somebody still acts crazy to you, act crazy back. Folks giving unstable people the time of day blows my mind. You almost never hear native Washingtonians complain about this because we know not to engage and have perfected the resting bitch face.

The very few times someone has followed me or continuously harassed me, I’ve made so big and stupid of a scene that it scared them off. I’m a short, curvy, feminine woman and while I do get catcalled, I almost never get harassed the way people on this thread are describing.

Oh yeah, I’ve had a few run ins with him. I think his name in Kyle. He walked next to me from 14th and P all the way to the frozen foods section of Whole Foods (yes, walked into the store with me) snarkilly asking if he was bothering me and shaming me for not giving him $40 dollars. I didn’t look/speak with him the entire time, but he left after I lost it and yelled back at him.

Saw him again weeks later while walking my dog near Blagden alley early in the morning. He didn’t recognize me and started in with the same tactic — aggressively asking if he was bothering me while I didn’t acknowledge him and walked away from him. Had to shout at him again to get him to stop following me.

Months later (and a few weeks ago) I found him passed out in front of my next door neighbors front door early one morning. He had a cut on his face, an aerosol canister of some sort by his hand, and my neighbors flower planters were strewn across her porch. (Looked like a flailing pass out) I was actually worried that he was in rough shape so I tried to wake him up to see if he was ok. No response, called for an ambulance. They show up, wake him up/revive him, ask him his name (this is how I know his first name). This guy actually starts swearing at the EMTs and acting aggressively, but finally wanders off after a few minutes.

He’s tried to follow me a few times since, but now he goes away immediately after I say “go away Kyle.” I’m an average size guy though, so I don’t think this tactic would work for everyone.

So yeah, I get how persistent and scary he can be. Sorry you’ve had run ins with him too.