So I’m an international student and I work near my house it’s like 15 mins walking distance. My shifts usually end at like 2am and to get home I have to cross this huge school field.
Last night I was walking home and saw this guy with a mask coming from the other side. I already got a weird feeling so I moved more to the corner to give him the whole path. Then I noticed he started walking toward me instead. It was dark as well so I instantly video called my mom and started showing her my surroundings and the the second I did that he just changed direction again and I saw him leaving the field . At that point I was already scared af. Then when I finally got off the field and was close to my house, I looked back because my gut was telling me to and I literally saw him behind me again walking the same direction. I called my friend who lives near my house and asked him to come outside. When the guy saw my friend he immediately switched the route and left.
Maybe I’m overthinking, maybe I’m not as it genuinely felt like he was following me and now I’m honestly kinda shaken up. I’ve already had bad experiences before with random homeless people being aggressive and stuff so this brought all that anxiety back. I tried reading Canadian self defense laws but it’s kinda confusing to me. Like what are you even allowed to carry here? And what actually counts as “reasonable force”?
I’m not trying to act tough or hurt anybody. I just don’t wanna feel helpless walking home at 2 in the morning. In situations like this, what do you guys actually do to stay safe that also doesn’t break the law?