TikToker Guilherme Peruca, or @guilhermeperuca, is going viral after he helped guide an elderly woman away from his car after she falsely accused him of stealing her friend’s vehicle.
“I need help!” the woman yells outside of his passenger side window. “Someone’s trying to steal my best friend’s car.”
When Peruca—who is parked outside of a Lowe’s hardware store—responds calmly that the car is indeed his, the woman yells at him to “get outta here.”
“He’s stealing this car, it’s not his!” the woman continues. “I don’t care what he says!”
Eventually, a Lowe’s employee comes outside and asks to see Peruca’s registration and driver’s license. After confirming the car belongs to the TikToker, the employee tries to guide the woman away.
The woman yelling explains that she came to the store with her friend, but cannot find her. The employee promises to help the woman find her friend.
The video has garnered 15.6 million views since posting Oct. 13. In the comments, many viewers praised the TikToker and Lowe’s employee for how they both handled the situation. Some viewed it as an example of how to treat people who may be suffering from dementia or other cognitive impairments.
“Not a Karen at all. She may be on the dementia spectrum. Poor lady,” said one commenter. “Thanks for not being mad or abusive. Take care of each other guys.”
“Having a mom with Alzheimer’s, this is so incredibly sad,” wrote a second person. “Thank you for handling this so calmly.”
“That was sweet of u to not snap on her. Poor lady she probably has dementia u handled that well cause at first I wanted to curse her out,” said a third person.
In a follow-up video, Peruca explains that he initially began filming for his own safety, not realizing at first that the elderly woman was just lost and confused. He also says laughed as a “defense mechanism.” He’s now raising money to donate to the National Alliance on Mental Illness because of the incident in order to “give back” somehow.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Peruca via TikTok comment.
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