Personal safety teacher emphasizes awareness, identifying suspicious behavior through TikTok

Churches, malls and school campuses are all public spaces where anyone could be vulnerable to attack these days. In Chapel Hill, thousands are posed to gather for Halloween celebrations on Franklin Street next Monday.

A public safety teacher specializes in ways to identify dangerous behavior before something bad happens.

Unfortunately, we've all seen public spaces we’ve seen turn into crime scenes in a matter of seconds in recent years.

"We now know from experience that no location is safe if the general public can access it," said public safety teacher Terry Vaughan.

Vaughan says no one expects to be the victim of a crime. The former British Royal Marine Commander has spend the past 10 years teaching public safety tips.

He leads a program called D.I.R.T. which stands for Dangerous Individual Recognition Training. ​

"It is pertinent information for everyone and it teaches body language mindset and strategy for personal safety," he said.

The personal safety tips are a hit online. More than 402,000 users follow his TikTok account.

One popular clip is geared towards female runners.

"Your best defense against an attacker is going to be to outrun or outmaneuver them a bit," Vaughan said.

Vaughan stresses the importance of observing a public environment multiple times. Also, dialing up the awareness of what’s happening in a given space.

"The moment you are able to interpret what's going on around you interpret the body language of people you come into contact with, and utilize that information to sort of say, 'okay, no, this feels weird, and i can trust that feeling,' you will leave that much faster," Vaughan said.

Nyjah King sees these trainings as a benefit for all.

"I feel like trainings would be good," said King, a UNC student. "We can be aware of things that are happening and aware of more ways to protect friends."

So far, no arrests have been made. Wednesday night, UNC said an investigation is ongoing and police want to have a presence around residence halls.

As for the public safety teacher, he teaches in Raleigh and will be leading a workshop on NC State’s campus in February.