Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Samantha Hayes reportingPolice commend the actions of three women who were attacked in separate incidents over the weekend.
Shannon Rands says, "I'm an example that it can work. If you think you are in any harm, then take action. Fight. Don't let anyone take you against your will."
Police say the attacks should be a lesson to us all.
The women were targeted without warning, by men they didn't recognize.
In one case, a man almost pulled a woman who was just walking along the street, into his car. But she knew how to get away.
Seven o'clock Sunday morning, Shannon Rands was hungry for breakfast. The downtown grocery store was closed, so she kept walking. A stranger offered her a ride.
Shannon Rands/ Attempted kidnapping victim: "As I turned awaya to keep walking, he grabbed my sweater and pulled me in the truck. I grabbed my purse and swung it at him, and hit him in the face with my keys that were attached to the purse."
In a separate incident, a woman working at a beauty salon didn't get away as easily. Police say Pedro Vallejo-Romo came back to the salon after getting his hair cut, waiting until the woman working inside was alone.
Dwayne Baird/ Salt Lake City Police Dept.: "He had taken her into the bathroom, took a flower pot, a ceramic flower pot, and broke it over her head. She was in a real bad situation."
Police say he looked behind him into a mirror and saw a car pulling into the parking lot. He went to lock the door and she slipped out the back.
Dwayne Baird/ Salt Lake City Police Dept.: "Both these women saved their own lives, essentially."
It was swift action in Midvale that saved a 14-year-old girl.
Police say Kendal Davis entered a home through an unlocked door, and cut the phone lines before trying to assault the girl in her own bedroom.
He told her not to scream, but she screamed anyway -- waking her father who held Davis until police arrived.
Chief Gerald Maughan/ Midvale Police Dept.: "If they're going to kidnap you, you never know where you're going to end up. She did exactly the right thing."
More often than not, victims are attacked by people they know, or at least recognize. Police say it's very odd to have several stranger attacks in such a short amount of time.