A UC Berkeley student endured a terrifying encounter when a man experiencing homelessness climbed over the entrance to her off-campus apartment complex and pursued her inside.
Surveillance footage shows the man scaling the entrance to junior Eden Winograd’s building Tuesday night, moments after she returned from walking her dog.
Winograd said she first noticed the man watching her outside the building.
“I started to panic a little bit, but I didn’t want to offend him if he was just standing there,” she told NBC Bay Area. She said she crossed the street in an effort to create distance between herself and the man.
“I started speeding up and heard his feet banging on the floor behind me,” Winograd said.
She reached the secured entrance, buzzed herself in and closed the gate. But as she continued inside, she heard clanging behind her. When she turned around, she said, the man was climbing over the gate.
The surveillance video appears to show the man using the door’s push bar as a foothold before leaping over the entrance. Officials said he appeared to be carrying what was likely a barbecue lighter.
Winograd made it safely to her building’s elevator and called police.
“My heart sank. I was out of breath, my heart was pounding,” she told NBC Bay Area.
She later shared the surveillance video on TikTok, where it has been viewed more than a million times.
Berkeley police found the man lying on a sidewalk the following day and arrested him. The case has been referred to prosecutors for review.
Winograd said the traumatic encounter continues to affect her.
“I don’t care if they have a weapon in their hand or nothing in their hand, I don’t want to be chased the second I step out of my apartment,” she said.
“I don’t want to be chased and have to watch someone claw their way up a wall to get to where I live.”
