Washington Woman Attacked After Warning Others Of Man Masturbating In Public

A 35-year-old Washington woman, mother of three said she was attacked after she tried to warn people around her about a man who approached her asking for directions while he was allegedly masturbating in a grocery store parking lot, according to several reports Thursday.

The incident took place Monday night when Amanda Edwards, 35, went to Safeway grocery store to buy dinner for her three children. Edwards said the attack might have been motivated by her attempt to help others around, warning them of a man who first approached her asking for directions and then began allegedly fondling himself.

She said the incident started in the grocery store parking lot and ended on her walk home.

"Definitely wasn’t a fair fight," Edwards told Fox affiliate Q13, who choked up recalling the details.

Edwards said she was at Safeway to buy dinner for her three kids and as she was leaving the store when a man pulled up in his car and asked for directions while fondling himself. She said she asked him to get lost when he just drove onto another woman present at the parking lot with her child.

"You have to have a pretty crazy mind to go around and think that it’s OK to do something like that," said Edwards.

Edwards said she also attempted to take a photo of the man’s car while she yelled at other customers to stay away. The man then reportedly drove away.

She also wrote on her Facebook page describing the incident and warning others on Wednesday.

Edwards said while she was walking home, she had been followed, grabbed from behind and then beaten up badly. The victim sustained four fractures to her face, including a crack down the roof of her mouth.

"The thought that I can’t walk out the door without feeling like this guy is somewhere around here--that hits so close to home," Edwards said, according to CBS affiliate WTVR.

"I’ve never had that fear in my life. I’ve never felt like I can’t walk and be free and protect myself," Edwards added. "I think that’s what bothers me the most is that I didn’t get a chance to get away."

She also warned others before the man strikes again.

"He put time into following me and getting out of his car and running up on me and attacking me and I feel like if he got away with it, he would probably feel like he can do it again," Edwards continued. "He was extremely aggressive and when he came up and he said ‘I got you’ and when he started laughing--it was one of the evilest laughs I’ve heard," Edwards described. "I mean to me he had a rapist mentality."

According to the victim, the man was a Pacific Islander male, might be in his 20s to 30s, having a slim but solid build and reportedly wearing a beanie. The vehicle was described to be a 4-door white sedan, likely to be a Ford Focus, and it had extensive damage to the entire passenger side of the car, New York Daily News reported.