Victim says man pressed gun to her head, told to get in backseat of car in Target parking lot

TROY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A terrifying ordeal in Troy where a woman was attacked by an armed man in the Target parking lot - and luckily got away after a man stepped in to help.

The incident was detailed in a Facebook post shared more than 3,000 times about the brazen attack in public.

She wrote: "On 7/7/23 a man fought his way into my parked car, attacked me, pointed a gun to my head, told me not to scream and to get in my backseat."

It happened in the Target parking lot on Coolidge Highway on Friday night, just after 9 p.m. The victim fought back and in the process - Troy police say the man who attacked her, hit her in the face with a closed fist.

Investigators released surveillance images of the suspect.

When Target shopper Megan Murphy heard about what happened, she was concerned.

"I thought to myself, I’m going to bring my husband here today, just to be extra safe," she said.

When it happened Friday night, investigators say the victim was able to get the attention of a good Samaritan who yelled at the suspect and ran towards the altercation — prompting the suspect to run away.

The whole story — not surprisingly — has a lot of women on edge.

In her Facebook post, the victim urges others not to leave their home alone after 7 p.m. saying the attack happened in a matter of two minutes and that she was caught completely off-guard and was unable to defend herself.

"It's definitely something I’m going to have to think a lot more about, because I’m always on my phone, looking around, we’re all moving so quick," Murphy said.