A few months ago, TikToker Mallory (@mal_3201) and her boyfriend moved into an apartment. About two months later, a family moved in next door.
It was a mom, a dad, and two little kids. Their grandpa also moved in with them, and he only spoke Spanish.
Mallory has a doorbell camera, which faces the neighbors’ door. So, she can see when they leave or come home. The grandpa would go outside multiple times a day to stand on the porch and just stare at the parking lot.
One night, at around 8:30 p.m., Mallory and her boyfriend heard a loud banging on the door. It was the grandpa at the door. She tried to communicate with him, but the language barrier made it difficult. He also refused to talk to Mallory’s boyfriend at all. She ended up calling a friend who spoke Spanish.
Apparently, the grandpa had an emergency and needed to borrow five dollars. Mallory handed him $10, and that was the end of it. Or so she thought.
A month later, her boyfriend’s brother came over to visit. He dropped his phone somewhere and lost it. The location showed that it was at the apartment, but they couldn’t find it anywhere.
After two hours of searching, they decided to check the doorbell camera. The grandpa came out, saw the phone, picked it up, put it in his pocket, and then walked back inside.
So, Mallory’s boyfriend knocked on the neighbors’ door and asked for the phone back. The grandpa fished the phone from his back pocket and handed it to him.
Recently, Mallory was home alone with her baby when the grandpa started pounding on her door at 2 p.m.. She didn’t answer the door.
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She kept an eye on him and saw that he also circled the parking lot several times and peered into her car. He tried knocking again at 6 p.m.
Finally, Mallory’s boyfriend returned home at 10 p.m. As soon as the grandpa heard their door open, his door opened, too. He had a piece of paper with a phone number written on it and said that he needed to call the number.
Mallory feels bad that he was stuck at home with no way to contact anyone, but she also finds his behavior a little creepy.
In the comments section, many TikTok users shared different perspectives and offered Mallory some advice on how to handle the situation.
“Yes, I would talk to the family and let them know he is bothering you. That’s the first step and the most polite thing to do. You don’t want to cause trouble, but you also don’t want him knocking on your door at all hours,” commented one user.
“I don’t think he sounds dangerous. I think this is worth a conversation with the family, and if it continues, let them know you need to get more help to make it stop,” wrote another.
“He’s old, alone, and frustrated. Imagine living somewhere where you can’t communicate your basic needs? He may not want to even say hi because he’s embarrassed of how it may sound to you or that you may think he knows English and carry on with a conversation that he can’t engage with. He may also have health issues, such as early stages of dementia,” pointed out a third.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
