Go thingyou don’t live in NYC or LA or SF
Same thought I had. I grew up in NYC. Experiences like this were a daily occurrence if you weren't careful. You learned situational awareness from a young age, and just had to maintain a strong sense of which places to avoid. Growing up in NYC, you frequented street vendors where there were lots of "normal" people and no street bums.
I still do my "situational awareness" even though I'm no longer in NYC. When I go to an ATM for example, I case the area before approaching the bank, and am always turning my head looking around. It's the New Yorker in me.