MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — The random killing of a woman in her 70s who was walking her dog in Martin County on Thursday is the latest in a series of unprovoked attacks in the area. Over the past two years, at least five people have been murdered by strangers.
"It's crazy," Juliana Ballow said.
WATCH BELOW: 'You need a way to protect yourself,' Matthew Olivo tells WPTV's
The Treasure Coast down to the bottom of Palm Beach County has seen a number of similar crimes over the past decade. In 2016, Austin Haroff killed two strangers in a garage in Stuart and began to eat one of their faces.
"I hate you, I hate you all, I hate what you did," Cindy Mishcon, the sister of a victim, said.
Five years later, a homeless drifter stabbed 14-year-old Ryan Rogers to death while he was riding his bike in Palm Beach Gardens.
"This defendant violently and viciously attacked him," Assistant State Attorney Jo Wilensky said.
In 2024, Port St. Lucie police said an 18-year-old man knocked on a 67-year-old man's door, hit him with a hammer, and stabbed him 45 times.
"We may have had an undetected serial killer in the works," Police Chief Leo Niemczyk said.
Two months later, a man was beaten and drowned while playing golf in Palm Beach Gardens.
"Boucher used the victim's golf clubs as weapons," Police Chief Dominick Pape said.
Two weeks after that, a bicyclist was stabbed to death in Riviera Beach. Police said a man got mad at his mother and took his anger out on the first person he saw.
Around Christmas time last year, a complete stranger stabbed a woman in the back while she was browsing at a Barnes and Noble in Palm Beach Gardens.
All of the unpredictable killings have left people not only heartbroken, but scared.
"They miss that big jovial spirit," Dina Lauro, girlfriend of Brian Hiltebeitel, who was killed on the golf course said.
"I feel my house is safest right now," Joey Bui had to say followign the bookstore killing.
The fear has prompted some residents to consider arming themselves. "I'm thinking about maybe carrying," Ballow said.
Gun shop owners are hearing more from customers. Matthew Olivo, owner of Continental Shooting Center, called the attacks "brutal, senseless acts."
"People realize evil walks among us," Olivo said. "You need a way to protect yourself."
Olivo said he expects a pretty big increase in customers as people learn about Thursday's stabbing death, which happened just minutes away from his shop.
He plans to increase the number of free gun training classes he offers following the attack. For those who are scared but do not want to carry a firearm, Olivo said pepper spray or stun guns are other options.
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