It started off as a typical walk home for Red Deer resident Barbara Smith until things took a dramatic turn.

Smith was heading home from work downtown on the afternoon of Jan. 18th when she noticed someone who had been following her from behind.

“I didn’t really notice him until I got to the bar,” she said, referring to O’Mally’s Pub.

She added that he later walked past her and proceeded to take out a blade from his shoe, slashing the strap of her bag, which she was using to carry her books.

Smith took action when her bag was taken, yelling, “Help me, help me!”

While trying to take her bag back, Smith said the man told her, ‘I am going to kill you.’ She added that she’s happy she’s still alive.

The man later went to the back of the fire station downtown and emptied her bag onto the snow, and she was able to get her bag back.

Smith also claimed that she had noticed this same man from a while ago standing outside of her house.

Corporal Karyn Kay with Red Deer RCMP said the incident was more of a crime of opportunity rather than a planned and targeted attack.

“Crimes of opportunity happen when there not well thought out,” said Kay.

She added that this particular incident is not, however, something the RCMP see often, especially in the afternoon.

Kay said that Smith did the right thing in yelling for help.

“She did everything that she was supposed to.”

The investigation, she said, is still ongoing. The man is described as being six feet tall and Caucasian.