In August 1999, two teenage girls: JB Beasley and Tracie Hawlett, were found dead in the truck of a car by the roadside in Ozark, Alabama. They were raped and shot in their heads. The semen collected from the crime scene yielded no positive leads as the DNA was not matched with anyone in the database. The killer, Colley McCraney, who was 26 at the time went back to living his normal life. He even founded a church, and became a bishop with children. About two decades later he was arrested and stands trial for the murder of the two girls. Colley was arrested after the DNA sample collected from the crime scene was submitted to Parabon Nanolabs, a company based in Reston, Virginia. They can predict people's physical appearance using DNA samples. After Colley's arrest, the police collected another DNA sample from him which was a perfect match with the semen collected at the crime scene.

Lucy Connolly dared to express her outrage after three British girls were brutally murdered by a Muslim terrorist. For that—not for violence, but for words—she was arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to 31 months in prison. Her crime? Speaking her mind online without any regard to the people who are theologically obligated to kill in the name of Allah (Islam’s god)—even if their victims are children. She offended the wrong people: not the murderer, but those desperate to protect the mass Islamic immigration into the UK as future voters for the far-left parties. This isn’t justice. It’s submission. And the British public is watching their freedoms vanish in silence. #Muslim, #Terrorist, #Prosecuted, #Prison, #Justice, #Islam,

April 16th, 2007 Virginia Tech shooting leaves 32 dead. On April 16, 2007, 32 people died after being gunned down on the campus of Virginia Tech by Seung-Hui Cho, a student at the college who later died by suicide. The Virginia Tech shooting began around 7:15 a.m., when Cho, a 23-year-old senior and English major at Blacksburg-based Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, shot a female freshman and a male resident assistant in a campus dormitory before fleeing the building. Police were soon on the scene; unaware of the gunman’s identity, they initially pursued the female victim’s boyfriend as a suspect in what they believed to be an isolated domestic-violence incident. However, at around 9:40 a.m., Cho, armed with a 9-millimeter handgun, a 22-caliber handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, entered a classroom building, chained and locked several main doors and went from room to room shooting people. Approximately 10 minutes after the rampage began, he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The attack left 32 people dead and more than a dozen wounded. In all, 27 students and five faculty members died in the massacre. Two days later, on April 18, NBC News received a package of materials from Cho with a timestamp indicating he had mailed it from a Virginia post office between the first and second shooting attacks. Contained in the package were photos of a gun-wielding Cho, along with a rambling video diatribe in which he ranted about wealthy “brats,” among other topics. In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shooting, authorities found no evidence that Cho, who was born in South Korea and moved to America with his family in 1992, had specifically targeted any of his victims. The public soon learned that Cho, described by students as a loner who rarely spoke to anyone, had a history of mental health problems. It was also revealed that angry, violent writings Cho made for certain class assignments had raised concern among some of his professors and fellow students well before the events of April 16. In 2011, Virginia Tech was fined by the U.S. Department of Education for failing to issue a prompt campus-wide warning after Cho shot his first two victims. #Crime, #Virginia, #Shooting,

Why your loved ones' safety CAN'T wait. Look, I need to be brutally honest with you... Your family doesn't have the luxury of waiting around while you "think about it." The threat is out there RIGHT NOW. According to the latest FBI stats, there are over 1.2 million violent crimes each year... That's one violent crime every 26.3 seconds. A rape is committed every 3.8 minutes A murder takes place every 32.1 minutes (And there's massive evidence that these stats are WAY under-reported) Either way... In those critical moments between life and death... You'll either have the training and equipment to protect your loved ones... Or you won't. It really is that simple. That's why I'm reaching out with some urgency today… Because tomorrow may be Too late. Stay Safe, Stay Prepared. #Armyourself https://armyourself.us

1998, A school shooting in Jonesboro, Arkansas, kills five. Mitchell Johnson, 13, and Andrew Golden, 11, shoot their classmates and teachers in Jonesboro, Arkansas on March 24, 1998. Golden, the younger of the two boys, asked to be excused from his class, pulled a fire alarm and then ran to join Johnson in a wooded area 100 yards away from the school’s gym. As the students streamed out of the building, Johnson and Golden opened fire and killed four students and a teacher. Ten other children were wounded. The two boys were caught soon afterward. In their possession were thirteen fully loaded firearms, including three semi-automatic rifles, and 200 rounds of ammunition. Their stolen van had a stockpile of supplies as well as a crossbow and several hunting knives. All of the weapons were taken from the Golden family’s personal arsenal. Both of the boys had been raised around guns. Andrew Golden belonged to a local gun club and sometimes competed in shooting contests. Because Johnson and Golden were thirteen and eleven, they could not be charged as adults in Arkansas. They were both adjudicated as delinquent and sent to reform institutes. They were to be released when they turned 18, as they could legally no longer be housed with minors, but Arkansas bought a facility in 1999 that enabled the state to keep the boys in custody until their 21st birthdays. Johnson was freed in 2005, but later returned to prison for other charges; Golden was released in 2007 and died in 2019. Arkansas changed its laws following the Jonesboro tragedy so that child murderers can be imprisoned past age 21. #TrueCrime, #Murder, #Prison,

1987 Torture chamber uncovered in Philadelphia. Responding to a 911 call, police raid the Philadelphia home of Gary Heidnik and find an appalling crime scene. In the basement of Heidnik’s dilapidated house is a veritable torture chamber where three naked women were found chained to a sewer pipe. A fourth woman, Josefina Rivera, had escaped and called police. Gary Heidnik was a former mental patient and sex offender who had managed to become a wealthy stock investor. He owned a Rolls Royce and beat Uncle Sam on his income taxes by making himself the bishop of his own church. The sign on the front of his house read, “United Church of the Ministries of God.” One room in his house was partially wallpapered with money. At the end of 1986, Heidnik decided to create his own harem and began kidnapping women off the streets of Philadelphia. Six women were kidnapped and held in Heidnik’s dungeon. All were raped and tortured while the others were forced to watch. He killed one of the women by putting her in a pit, filling it with water and putting a live electrical wire into the water. Another of the women was killed when Heidnik let her starve to death while chained to the wall. In perhaps the most grisly and horrid episode of the entire incident, Heidnik dismembered one of his victims, cooking parts of her body and feeding it to his other captives. The women who were found alive recovered after being treated for dehydration and malnutrition. Although Heidnik was clearly mentally disturbed, he was found guilty and convicted of murder on July 1, 1988. He received a death sentence, and was executed on July 6, 1999. Heidnik was one of the inspirations for the Buffalo Bill character in Thomas Harris’ Silence of the Lambs. #TrueCrime #Murder, #Torture, #Disturbed, #Convicted, #Guilty, #Executed, #Death,

Why Do Teens Kill? These Four Teenage Girls Committed a Brutal Murder Shanda Sharer was just your ordinary pre-teen, but her life was changed forever when she was brutally murdered by three older teenage girls. It’s hard to believe that young girls are capable of this type of behavior, but this case proves that they really are. It also shows that crowd mentality is very real. It’s hard to believe that any one of these girls wanted to go along with the plan, but somehow, the evening’s events transpired without any protest Not only did they murder Shanda Sharer, but they brutally tortured her before putting an end to her life. At the tender age of 11, Shanda Sharer didn’t even have a chance for her life to begin. Her life was unfairly taken from her, way too soon. How did all this happen? Keep reading to find out. About Shanda Sharer Shanda was a bubbly pre-teen with her whole life ahead of her. She was someone that everybody wanted to be friends with. But one day she got into a fight at school with a 14-year-old girl named Amanda. And this is where the entire story begins. The two were put in detention together and made up quickly. It wasn’t long before they became best friends. But Shanda’s mom wasn’t too happy about this new friendship, as Shanda’s grades started slipping, and she started getting into more trouble at school. Soon the pair started to become romantically involved. Although this wasn’t made clear to Shanda’s mother at the time, she would soon find out. It All Started at a School Dance The events all started at a school dance that Shanda attended with her new girlfriend Amanda. Unfortunately, Amanda’s ex wasn’t too happy about the fact that she was dating someone else. Melinda Loveless was the name of her ex, who decided to pick a fight with Shanda that evening. Both Amanda and Melinda were a few years older than Shanda, and Melinda started to torment Shanda, saying she wanted to kill her. Amanda got between them and told Melinda to calm down, so the events didn’t escalate too badly that night. But it seemed that revenge was brewing in Melinda’s mind. It Turned Out to Be More Than Just Friendship One day, Shanda’s mom, Jackie, found love letters written between Amanda and Shanda. She was worried about how sexually explicit the content of the letters was. Especially because her little girl was only 11 years old. That’s quite a young age to become romantically involved. Jackie decided she wanted to send her daughter to another school to split the two girls up. Shanda was getting into trouble more and her mother didn’t like the direction the situation was going towards. Shanda was sent to a catholic school and started to enjoy it. Although the two girls were now at separate schools, they continued to send love letters to one another. But it seemed as if Shanda was less responsive now than she had been when they were at the same school. How Was Shanda Sharer Abducted? It was early evening on the 10th of June, 1992, when four girls rocked up outside of Shanda’s house. Their names were Melinda Loveless (Amanda’s ex), Hope Rippey, Laurie Tackett, and Toni Lawrence. These girls had a plan for Shanda, and it all began with Hope and Toni knocking on Shanda’s front door. When Shanda opened the door, she was told that Amanda wanted to talk to her and they would take her to her girlfriend. She said her dad and stepmom were still awake, but that they should come back later because she wanted to see Amanda. What she didn’t know, was that this was some kind of twisted revenge plot put together by Amanda’s ex, Melinda Loveless. Events at the Witches Castle The girls left and came back at 12:30 am in the dark of night as they were certain Shanda’s dad and stepmom would be asleep by then. Hope and Laurie marched up to the door to fetch Shanda, while Melinda and Toni stayed in the car. They hid under a blanket holding a knife. Just the sort of surprise that Shanda would not be expecting. When Shanda got into the car, Melinda popped out and threatened Shanda with the knife. They then took her to the Witch’s Castle in the woods. There they tied her hands and feet and threatened her with cutting all her hair off. They then made a fire, it’s not entirely clear why, but it can be assumed it was either for ambiance or to stave off the cold. Leaving the Witch’s Castle The girls were worried that the fire may have drawn attention to them, so they decided to leave the Witch’s Castle. They drove around aimlessly for a while, all unsure of what they were going to do next. Eventually, they ended up in the forest that was located behind Laurie’s house. This seemed like a quiet place for them to go about their evil deeds. Laurie and Melinda took Shanda into the woods while Toni and Hope remained in the car. The two girls proceeded to take off all of Shanda’s clothes, and they started beating her. Melinda even tried to cut Shanda’s throat, but it appeared that the knife was too blunt. It was then that Hope decided to join them in the woods. It seemed that she wanted to be a part of all the action. A Seeming End to the Torture Now that Hope had joined Laurie and Melinda in the woods, they had an extra set of hands to help them. Hope was holding Shanda down, while Laurie and Melinda took turns to stab Shanda. They then strangled young Shanda until they were sure she was unconscious before putting her body into the back of the car. It’s almost unbelievable that girls of this age would be capable of such a gruesome murder, but there’s a lot more to each of these girls than first meets the eye. Each of them had lived very difficult lives, not that anything aids as an excuse for the terrible events that unfolded that night. All About Melinda Loveless As you can imagine, Melinda Loveless didn’t come from a healthy, loving, and balanced home. Melinda’s father, Larry Loveless, was an army veteran from the Vietnam War. He had difficulty getting and holding down a job and spent all the money he did make on guns and motorcycles. Which is not a very responsible way for any father to behave. Larry was also an abusive drunk and was known to beat his wife in front of their children. He and Marjorie (Melinda’s mother) had an open relationship, and would often bring other couples home from the bar. They were a promiscuous couple, to say the least. Larry was also known for lending out his wife to his friends. Whether this was out of her own will or forced upon her is not known. More About the Life of Melinda Loveless Marjorie was beaten badly and often, sometimes even having to be hospitalized for her injuries. Because of this, she became increasingly depressed and tried to take her own life many times. Unfortunately, Larry didn’t keep his abusive behavior to only his wife, it seemed he was willing to abuse everyone and anyone he had any kind of power over. He was abusive toward his three young daughters too. Even going as far as molesting them. Melinda claimed that she shared a bed with her father until she was 14, which was when her parents finally got divorced and her father moved out of state. Leaving his family to live in peace for the very first time. But it’s easy to see how their tragic past could have tormented each of them a great deal. Melinda Loveless Continued to Have a Difficult Life As a young teenager, Melinda struggled badly with depression and she got into fights at school on a regular basis. This is not surprising considering the level of violence that she had to endure at home. Yet still, nobody could have ever predicted how far she would take her violence with Shanda. Melinda was having trouble at school because there was so much else going on in her life. She ended up being held back a year to repeat her grade. She was also very open about being gay, which was not very common for a young girl living in a small town in the ‘90s. Melinda was a mere 16 years old when she was involved with Shanda’s murder. Who Was Laurie Tackett? Mary Laurine “Laurie” Tackett was raised in a strict Christian household in Madison. Both her parents were abusive and child services had been to their house on numerous occasions. Laurie started to self-harm as a young teen, landing herself in hospital many times. Eventually, she was diagnosed with a borderline personality disorder after confessing that she’d had hallucinations ever since she was a child. After being released from the hospital, Laurie ran away from home and went to live with friends in Madison. That is where she met Melinda, and after becoming inseparable friends, she moved to New Albany with Melinda. Laurie was the oldest of the girls, being 17 when she assisted in the murder of Shanda Sharer. Who Was Hope Rippey? Hope also made friends with Laurie in Madison. Her parents (who were much more involved in her life than the rest of the girls), weren’t happy about the two spending time together as they could tell that Laurie was not a good influence. Their daughter was precious to them, and they didn’t want bad things to come her way simply because of the people she was hanging out with. But they had no idea just how bad things would get. Just like the other two girls, Hope was a self-harmer and identified as gay. She was also the only one in the group that was friends with Toni. The two had been very close friends from a young age. She was just 15 years old when she assisted in the murder of Shanda Sharer. Who Was Toni Lawrence? Toni was a little different from the rest as she was close friends with Hope, but didn’t know the other two very well. There were reports that stated that Toni was abused by a relative at the tender age of nine. She was also raped by a teenage boy at the age of 14, and there was no justice as the police simply asked the boy to stay away from her. Although Toni started going to counseling after being raped, she stopped going after a short while. This event seemed to be a turning point, changing her into a promiscuous young teenager who engaged in self-harm and even attempted to end her own life when she was only in eighth grade. When she was involved with Shanda Sharer’s murder she was just 15 years old. What Was the Original Plan? The girls were planning on attending a rock concert on the 10th of June, the night of Shanda’s murder. Toni had never even met Laurie and Melinda, but she was solemn friends with Hope so she was invited along for the ride. When Toni got into the car, Laurie asked Hope, “did you tell her yet?” Laurie responded with, “tell her what?” Laurie told Toni, “we’re going to kill a girl tonight!” Of course, Toni thought it was some sort of strange joke, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. Then they drove to New Albany to pick up Melinda. When Melinda came walking out of her house, she was carrying a very large kitchen knife. She got in the car excitedly and told the girls she wanted to give this Shanda girl a scare. The Three Girls Were Just Along for the Ride Out of all of the girls, Melinda was the only one who had ever met Shanda. So when Melinda said she wanted to give the young girl a scare, the others were just going along for the ride. It’s hard to imagine how it escalated so quickly with none of the girls attempting to stop the events of that evening. When the four arrived at Shanda’s house for the first time, Melinda was hiding on the floor of the car as she knew that Shanda would not get in the car if she knew Melinda was there. Shanda had never actually met Toni or Hope before, but she agreed to go along with them in the hopes of seeing her girlfriend Amanda. Unfortunately, the group had other plans for her. Toni Started to Have Her Suspicions When Shanda told the two girls to come back later, they hopped in the car and all headed to the rock concert they had been planning on attending that night. When it was over, they started to make their way back to Shanda’s house. It was then that Toni started to feel uncomfortable. At this point, Toni started to feel concerned over the events that were going to unfold. Melinda kept talking about how excited she was to kill Shanda, although she kept correcting herself, saying that she just wanted to scare the girl. Toni didn’t like this very much, and because of it, refused to go back to Shanda’s door to lure her to the car. An Awful Surprise for Shanda Shanda excitedly made her way toward the car as she looked forward to seeing her girlfriend. But when she was in the car, Melinda popped up and grabbed her hair, all while holding a knife to her throat. While Shanda begged Melinda not to hurt her, Melinda coldly said “shut up, b***h!” They then headed to the Witch’s Castle, where Laurie and Melinda started to tie her up. They kept telling her that the place was full of dead people to scare her as if their actions weren’t enough to terrify the young girl. Laurie then lit a t-shirt on fire and told Shanda that soon she would be the one burning. Although none of the girls were likely to believe this at the time, it would turn out to be true. What Happened Next? Next, the girls took Shanda to the woods. There Laurie and Melinda stabbed her multiple times and strangled her until she was unconscious. They then took her body and put it in the trunk of the car, telling the other girls that she was dead. This was something they probably believed to be true at the time. When they heard sounds coming from the trunk of the car, they realized she must still be alive. Laurie got out of the car and stabbed her a few more times until Shanda was completely silent. That was how poor 11-year-old Shanda was brutally tortured. It’s hard to even imagine the pain she must have endured that night. What Did the Girls Do After Committing Murder? Laurie and Melinda then dropped Hope and Toni off, before driving around with Shanda in the trunk of their car. Neither of them remember how long they were driving before they picked up Toni and Hope again. With events so gruesome, it’s not hard to believe that the entire night went by in a blur. Laurie and Melinda then wanted to show the other two girls what they had done to Shanda. Although Toni refused to look, Hope did. She then sprayed the body with Windex and said, “You’re not looking so hot now, are you?” What inspired this kind of treatment for a girl she had never even met before that night is incomprehensible. The Final Moments of Shanda’s Life The girls pulled up to a local gas station and Toni bought a bottle of Pepsi. That seemed to give Laurie an idea as she snatched the bottle, emptied it, and filled it with gasoline. They all hopped in the car and drove down a country lane surrounded by fields. Laurie and Hope hoisted the still barely alive Shanda out of the boot and dumped her body. When the body was in the middle of a field, Laurie poured gasoline on Shanda and set her alight. All four girls then went to McDonald’s. Toni, who never wanted to go along with the idea at all was absolutely hysterical - understandably. It had been a dramatic evening filled with incredibly dark activities. One’s that all the girls would come to regret. Melinda Decided to Contact Her Ex Melinda and Laurie decided it was time for Hope and Toni to go home. They dropped them off and then decided to call Melinda’s ex, Amanda. Melinda told Amanda about what they had done, but Amanda didn’t believe it. She agreed to meet up with Melinda anyway to find out what was going on. They picked Amanda up and took her to Melinda’s house, where Melinda broke down and told Amanda everything. Amanda couldn’t believe what she was being told, so Melinda showed her the trunk of the car which contained pools of blood, bloody handprints, long dark strands of hair, and one of Shanda’s socks. The Body Was Found Almost Instantly While the girls had been chowing down burgers at McDonald’s, two brothers had been out hunting quail in the same vicinity that the girls had dumped the body. They stumbled across Shanda’s burnt remains and immediately called the cops. What an unexpected and traumatic find during your early morning hunting session. What the cops realized is that the body wasn’t only horribly burnt and mutilated but it had been placed in a sexual position. This caused them to believe that the young girl had been molested before her death as well. Of course, in the morning Shanda’s dad noticed she was missing and immediately called the cops to report his missing daughter. Toni Stepped Forward The very next day, Toni walked into the police station with her dad to speak to a detective. She was in hysterics but told the cops absolutely everything about the murder that she never intended to be a part of. This would help her in the long run, but she got off far from scot-free. She told the cops that the girl’s name was Shanda and that she was either 12 or 13. She didn’t remember the times that all these events took place, but she could tell the cops exactly what happened in each location. Leading them through the story from picking Shanda up, going to the Witch’s Castle, heading to the woods behind Laurie’s house, going to the gas station, and then the open field where the cops had found a body that very morning. Arrests and Sentencing Although the girls were teenagers, they were all tried as adults. Because every single one of the girls admitted guilt, they managed to avoid the death penalty. Laurie and Melinda were given double life sentences, while Hope was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Toni however, got out with only a 20-year sentence. None of the girls served their full sentences, Toni and Hope even managed to get out after just a couple of years. They went on parole before being set free for good. Many of the girls went on to change their names, no longer wanting to be tied to their criminal past. But for Shanda, a night of gruesome torture at the hands of cruel teenagers would be her last day on earth. Do you think that justice was served for this horrific crime? #TrueCrime #Murder #Death #Crime

The Story Of Adriana Olivia Kuch: On February 1st, 2023, she was beaten unconscious in the school hallway by a group of 4 older girls, one of whom struck her with a heavy plastic water bottle so hard the cap flew off. At least one of the girls even blamed her for the assault! They filmed the whole thing and posted it to Tiktok. By the end of the assault, Adriana was unconscious, bruised, bloodied, and humiliated. She should have been transported to a hospital, but the school nurse decided not to do so, and instead allowed her to call her father once she came to. Adriana and her father went straight to a police station to file a police report on the attack that she had suffered. But the worst part was yet to come. Once they got home, she discovered the video, which had gone viral. In the comments section, there were vile statements and comments directed towards her. The video was taken down, but the attackers quickly reuploaded it, along with screenshots of the video and the comments that were made. It took a massive toll on her mental health, and roughly 36 hours later, she hanged herself in a closet. Adriana Kuch died by suicide at midnight on February 3rd, and by the time she was discovered some six hours later, her body was likely already showing signs of rigor mortis. Police eventually charged the attackers with aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault. But the school’s response shocked everyone. They decided to blame her suicide on drugs and family issues, which was practically a slap in the face to her father. At her closed casket wake, there were multiple instances where a few stupid students decided to mock her family, and it took a call to the police to get them removed. This led to her funeral being cancelled, her body was cremated and as a result of this, she would never get a dignified memorial. By now, her case had gained national attention, and outlets such as CNN, NBC and even Fox were covering the development of the story. Reporters were stationed at strategic locations, such as outside the funeral home. When they interviewed her friends and family, they said that Adriana was a kind person at her heart, and she would never get into fights with anyone. In fact, she had even saved the life of a 9 year old girl during the summer of 2022, when she jumped into a swimming pool and lifted the girl up and out of the water when she was struggling to swim. The mother of the nine year old, when interviewed, revealed tearfully that she hadn't told her daughter about Adriana’s death at that time, and we will never know how she reacted to the tragic news. One year on, Adriana’s parents filed a formal lawsuit alleging wrongful death and gross negligence. They are seeking unspecified damages. As of today, the suit is still pending. Adriana Olivia Kuch 3/11/2008 - 2/3/2023 Rest in Paradise #TrueCrime,

Subway Safety Map 1. Subway Entrances Safety Tip: Enter the station at central and commonly used entrances. Risk: Avoid dimly lit and remote entrances to the train station especially at night. 2. Booth and Turnstile Safety Tip: Swipe in with your card or tap your mobile device on turnstiles at booths that have attendants so they can assist you if necessary and act as a deterrence to criminals. Risk: Digging in your bag and wallet will make you appear distracted and vulnerable to opportunistic criminals. 3. Transitory Areas Safety Tip: Use situational awareness and be mindful of people and objects in your environment and your surroundings. Risk: Steer clear of desolate tunnels, stairways, elevators, and other transitory areas that isolate you. 4. Station Platform Safety Tip: Always stand in the middle of the platform with your body perpendicular to the platform so no one can come up from behind you. Risk: Never stand beyond the yellow line with your back facing the platform. 5. Subway Car Safety Tip: Choose subway cars that have many people and the conductor which are normally the middle, first or last cars. Risk: Avoid empty cars and try not to sit or stand near the door as criminals use these areas to commit crimes and then make a quick getaway. #armyourself

Park Safety Map for Joggers & Runners Use this park safety map to learn about the different areas of the park and their safety considerations. This is a general park safety map and all parks and outdoor environments may be different. Wooded Paths and Areas Wooded paths and dense areas of a park should generally be avoided if you're jogging because they possess natural seclusion and limited visibility. There is normally heavy tree cover, bushes and undergrowth, and winding trails which all lead to obscure sightlines and difficulty in using situational awareness and observing strangers from a distance. Due to their limited sunlight and rugged terrain, they are also often sparely populated which leads to less bystanders that can intervene if necessary. And the lack of lighting and quieter atmosphere provides cover for predators with bad intentions. Lastly, the uneven terrain and hidden roots or branches can be dangerous, making it harder to react quickly or change direction if you sense danger. Entrances and Exits Park entrances and exits can be dangerous for runners because they often involve transitioning through less populated isolated areas like parking lots or side streets. These "transition areas" are typically quieter, especially in the early morning or evening, making it easier for predators to stalk their victims. The lack of foot traffic and normal poor lighting also increases the risk of being targeted in these areas. Since people often let their guard down when arriving or leaving, runners may become more vulnerable in these areas. Staying alert, having your self-defense products ready, and avoiding lingering near entrances or exits can help reduce these risks. Waterfront or Lake Areas Waterfronts and lake areas can pose dangerous conditions for runners due to how desolate they can get and their natural terrain that's advantageous for predators. Running paths along lakes and waterways are often very desolate and contain few exit points since one whole side of the path is bordered by water. The other side is often bordered by dense woods or forest terrain which make running paths closed off with limited visibility. The variable terrain leading down from the normal ground to the water allows for favorable hiding spots for predators. The water's natural sounds and noises can also provide coverage for a predator. Well-Lit Roads & Paths Well-lit roads and paths are the best options for runners and joggers in parks at any hour of the day since they are normally the most populated and provide greater visibility even in darker settings. These well-lit areas are typically popular running routes and therefore discourage criminals from loitering in those areas. If something were to happen, there are normally bystanders or other runners in the area to call for help or personally intervene. Fields and Open Clearings Fields and open clearings are typically populated by families, children, and groups of adults, which make them great for running or jogging. The presence of recreational activities and gathering points increases the likelihood of bystanders and decreases the likelihood of violent crime. Open areas also provide a clear line of sight and greater visibility with less obstructions, which makes it easier to observe people from far away and evaluate their risk level. There's also more space to maneuver if someone were to present a risk, and you'd be provided with several different escape routes if necessary. Bridges and Tunnels Bridges and tunnels can be a potential area of concern for joggers due to their enclosed nature and limited visibility. A bridge or tunnel typically only has two ends and therefore only two escape routes if someone were to attack you. Bridges and tunnels also normally don't have much lighting or very poor lighting which hinders visibility. As mentioned earlier, the water's natural sounds provide coverage for a predator and added elements that can throw off a jogger. #armyourself