A Chicago woman noticed the man in her elevator never pressed a floor, so she led him into a stairwell he couldn’t get out of

Monica Fitz, an Illinois content creator, says she used a quirk of her apartment building’s layout to trap a man she believed was following her, leading police to respond and escort her home safely, as reported by The Nerd Stash. She shared the aftermath in a TikTok video that quickly gathered attention online.

She recalled sharing an elevator with a man who stayed quiet about his destination the entire ride. Once she got off and realized he had followed her out, she made a split-second decision to head for the stairwell rather than her front door. “I locked them in the staircase, like in the stairwell,” she said. She explained that most people don’t realize you need a key to get from the stairwell back into the apartment hallways, meaning the man’s only way out was through the ground floor.

Similar close calls have gone viral before, including a New York woman who slammed her door shut just in time. According to her account, the man kept trailing behind her as she navigated the stairs. She then made it back around to the elevator, and this time he had no way to keep up with her. She said she caught sight of him one more time from her floor, peering at her through the small window in the stairwell door. Her building’s security did not intervene, so police were called to the scene instead.

Safety experts recommend heading somewhere public first

Safety experts generally advise against leading someone straight to your front door if you suspect you’re being followed. According to LegalClarity, the safest move is to head toward the nearest busy, well-lit public place, such as a restaurant, staffed gas station, or hospital lobby, and alert a staff member to what’s happening rather than continuing home alone.

SafeWise adds that testing your suspicion first, by slowing down, changing direction, or pausing to look in a window, can help confirm whether someone is actually tailing you before deciding on next steps. Multiple safety guides also stress calling 911 as soon as you feel unsafe, rather than waiting until you have solid proof, since documenting the concern early gives police a head start if the situation escalates.

A subsequent clip showed officers checking the stairwell themselves, and they confirmed the man was nowhere to be found. From there, an officer walked her up to her apartment, pulled security footage that hadn’t been released publicly, and filed an official report on the incident. Reactions to the video were largely supportive. One person wrote, “Your situational awareness is locked in.” Another said, “You did great handling such a stressful encounter.”

Several commenters were critical of the building’s security response, with one suggesting she leave a public review to prompt changes, while another said, “At least the police took it seriously.”