A man’s claim that a Target store in Kansas City is the “scariest” in America has prompted debate online. Why, though? TikTok user @djhoneypot shows himself in his car outside of a Target store in a video that has received over 426,000 views.
The TikTok user said, “This is the scariest target in America.” He added, “I still will never get over what happened in this parking lot to Kelsey Smith in 2007.” He goes on, “I remember I was, like, kind of around that age, and it’s super scary.”
“And every time I come here, I just get the heebie-jeebies. Every time,” he said. For those who don’t know, in 2007, eighteen-year-old Kelsey Smith was abducted. According to PEOPLE, Kelsey went to the Target store shown in the TikTok video to get an anniversary present for her boyfriend.
On June 2, 2007, 18-year-old Kelsey Smith was kidnapped from a Target parking lot in Overland Park, Kansas, shortly after buying a gift for her boyfriend.
— Morbid Knowledge (@MorbidKnowledge) November 12, 2025
Surveillance footage showed her being forced into her car by 26-year-old Edwin R. Hall just seconds after unlocking the… pic.twitter.com/KFb9HdPZOO
Kelsey’s parents and boyfriend were worried when she failed to show up for their planned date. When they went to the store to search for the car, they couldn’t find it. They contacted the police as well.
They spent hours looking for Kelsey’s car. It was parked at a Macy’s across the street, with nobody inside, and did not have any fingerprints or items like Kelsey’s phone and keys. Police tried to get Kelsey’s phone records after noticing this, but Kelsey’s cell phone service provider, Verizon, did not provide them right away.
Police examined security footage from the Target after ruling out Kelsey’s boyfriend and family members as potential suspects. They saw that a man who had not yet been identified appeared to be following Kelsey throughTarget at this time.
Later surveillance footage showed the man forcing Kelsey into her car and exiting it in the Macy’s parking lot. Police identified a subject, Edwin Hall, using this video. Kelsey was also located four days later as a result of search efforts. She had passed away due to strangulation.
Hall was connected to the crime in several ways at a later trial. He ultimately entered a guilty plea to capital murder, aggravated kidnapping, assault, and aggravated sodomy in 2008. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release.
The Smith family has advocated for changes that they feel would have helped the investigation into Kelsey’s abduction since the events of 2007 and 2008. For example, the Smith family has pressured state governments to enact what are now known as "Kelsey Smith Laws" after Verizon took several days to deliver cell phone records to police.
On June 2, 2007, 18-year-old Kelsey Smith was kidnapped from a Target parking lot in Overland Park, Kansas, shortly after buying a gift for her boyfriend. pic.twitter.com/0QC5BBSLN3
— time in capsules (@timeincapsules) November 14, 2025
If it is judged that a person is in danger of dying or suffering severe physical harm, this enables law enforcement to promptly get the location of that person’s cell phone. Currently, more than 30 states have approved legislation of this or a similar kind.
Users shared their personal experiences with the parking lot and store shown in the video in the comments section. “I went to school with her. Graduated a year ahead and had classes with her for 3 of the 4 years in HS. Nearly 20 years later, I still think of her every time I’m over there,” a user wrote.
“My family and I were literally at the mall the day this happened… and we were never allowed to go to that Target again. Even as a 27-year-old… I don’t go in,” another user wrote. “It’s so scary to think that it was just a quick run into Target for her,” wrote a third user. “He preyed on her.”
