Editor’s note: The victim’s identity has been removed from this story once the suspect was charged in keeping with Global policy to not identify victims of sexual assault.
A former Lethbridge police officer, who now runs his own self-defence business, says he’s seen a spike in his services ever since a Lethbridge woman was savagely attacked and left for dead while walking to work on Friday.
“As of this morning, I have 10 people interested in taking the classes in the near future,” Dan Walton, the owner Savoy Six Advisor Group, said. “Anytime an incident happens inside the city there is a peak for training.”
Police in Lethbridge are calling on citizens to be vigilant when it comes to their personal safety as they continue to investigate the attack on a 25-year-old woman.
READ MORE: ‘It’s just shocking’: friends speak after Lethbridge woman brutally attacked on city street
Police haven’t said if the attack was random or targeted and Walton said the situation has created a sense of panic among women.
Sarai Greening has taken Walton’s class five times and said she plans on teaching the course. Five years ago, Greening’s mom told her that her older sister was raped when she was a teenager.
“She is 19 years older than me, but when she was 14, she got raped in her own home while my mom was away,” Greening said. “I thought it would be a good idea to learn a bunch of things so I can defend myself.”
Greening said when she found out her older sister was raped, she immediately enrolled herself into the classes.
Walton also said his own experience prompted his interest in self defence.
“When I was 10 years old, I was almost abducted in Edmonton,” he said. “I got away and that’s why I am passion about teaching self defence.”