Man allegedly tries to coax state representative out of her car in Stoughton’s Target parking lot

STOUGHTON, Mass. — Just days before Christmas, Massachusetts State Representative Alyson Sullivan (R-Abington) is urging women to be careful, after a stranger seemed to try and get her out of her parked car at the Stoughton Target store.

“I really don’t know what his intent was, but I definitely didn’t want to get out and find out what his intent was to do,” Rep. Sullivan told me.

Rep. Sullivan told Boston 25 News something just didn’t feel right late Sunday afternoon when a man approached her as she sat in her car waiting to pick up a package she ordered from Target.

She said the man waved at her and said her car was leaking oil.

“I said, “Oh it is? He said, “Yeah I can see it.” I said, “OK, thank you!” And then rolled my window back up. It felt a little off because he physically got out of his car and it was strange to me. He got back in his car and pulled out, he never went into Target. Never got a package,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan never got out of her car at Target, and when she got home, she checked her car. There was no leak.

Looking back, Sullivan tells me, I’ts obvious her real-life experience kicked in and told her what to do.

“Stay in the car. I’m a survivor of domestic violence, so I’ve been several years as a survivor. I think that has allowed me to be more aware of my surroundings,” Sullivan said.

Stoughton Police Lt John Bonney told me Rep. Sullivan did the right thing.

“She did a tremendous job trusting her instincts, calling the police, keeping a safe distance. That really all we can ask people to do,” Lt Bonney said.

Stoughton police tell me just one week earlier, they had another call about a man telling a woman her car was leaking oil.

He’s urging women to be vigilant.

“If it doesn’t feel right, you just say no. if it’s not anything that needs to be addressed right then, you don’t feel comfortable, say no and back away and you call us,” Lt Bonney said.

“If you do feel uncomfortable, do not feel embarrassed to call 911 and report an issue. That is what the law enforcement is there for, to protect us, and if you have any kind of weird instinct, follow your gut could gut instinct,” Rep. Sullivan added.

About an hour after the incident on Sunday, Rep. Sullivan posted on Facebook about her experience. Almost immediately she heard from women in nearby towns, such as Brockton, Canton, and Randolph, that the same thing happened to them.

In every case, Stoughton Police say, women are offering a similar description: a white man in his 50s or 60s, driving a white Jeep Patriot SUV.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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