During an incident last month at a 7-Eleven store in Alhambra, Calif., a victim used hand signals popularized on the social media app TikTok to alert people she was in danger.
In an Aug. 31 Facebook post, the Alhambra Police Department said that someone recognized the signals and contacted authorities for help. That call sent officers to the 7-Eleven convenience store at Fremont and Montezuma avenues in Alhambra.
Body camera footage posted by the police department showed the suspect – 38-year-old Joseph Palombi of Glendora, Calif. – tried to flee from officers when they asked to pat him down. He didn’t make it out of the parking lot.
Palombi was arrested and booked into the Alhambra Police Department jail. Police said they discovered he had an active warrant and a stun gun on his person.
As of this Saturday, online records indicated that Palombi was still being held with no bail. These records also indicate that the incident occurred on Aug. 19.
USA Today reported that the hand signals used by the victim came from the “Signal for Help” campaign launched in 2020 by the Canadian Women’s Foundation. Through this campaign, the group aimed to provide a “simple one-handed gesture someone can use, without leaving a digital trace, to communicate they need someone to safely check in and support them.”
This signal can be made by facing one’s palm forward with the thumb tucked in and closing fingers over the thumb to “trap” it. People are advised to use the signal on web cameras or in situations when they cannot safely speak. It doesn’t necessarily call on observers to call authorities, just to check in with the person giving the sign.
According to USA Today, the hand signal also helped a 16-year-old girl who had been missing for days signal to a driver and a victim in a 2022 Tennessee case.