It's just the way things are. We had the Beltway Sniper around here ten years ago, and many of the shootings happened in the same county I work in. Everyone was talking about it, and we all used irregular gaits when walking across open outdoor areas, moving side to side and such. But most people took it in stride and realized it was random, and everyone went on with their daily activites. There just wasn't anything that you could do aside from staying locked up at home.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltway_sniper_attacks
I know, it's Wikipedia, but I glanced over it and it seems to be the way I remember things.