CHESAPEAKE, Va. — On a Friday night, Rachael Peirce could knock on 15 strangers’ doors in a four-hour span.
She said Thursday night’s deadly shooting has caused the entire pizza delivery community to stop and think.
“It’s very panicking, especially because I’m pregnant so it kind of makes me not want to continue doing what we do,” said Pierce.
Peirce’s Domino’s store is right across the street from the Chanello’s where Stephanie Brainerd reportedly worked.
Peirce has delivered to the exact same neighborhood where Stephanie was killed, a neighborhood that Peirce said doesn’t have the best reputation.
“So that’s one thing that our store is really good about is if you get some place and it doesn’t feel safe or something doesn’t feel right we are able to just turn around and come back to the store,” said Peirce.
However, when it comes to physically protecting herself, there is only so much she can do.
“By our policy, we can’t carry any weapons, pepper spray, anything like that on us,” said Peirce.
Peirce has played out life-threatening scenarios in her own mind, like what if someone held her up at gunpoint. That’s why she keeps her money in a small, easily assessable, change purse.
“So that way, if I do get robbed, I can just hand them the thing and then run away,” explained Peirce.
The expectant mother would like any would-be criminal to know going after a delivery driver for the money is not a lucrative score.
“You are only supposed to carry $20 with you. You aren’t supposed to carry any more than that,” said Peirce.
The Chanello’s where Brainerd worked was closed on Friday, her co-workers in mourning. Peirce said despite the terrible tragedy, being a delivery driver is not a bad job.
“The chances of going through something traumatic or something dangerous are still fairly slim. If you are living behind what-ifs, you aren’t going to be able to do anything with your life,” said Peirce.