Random, violent crime in the news (surprise!)

Investigators combing journal belonging to Maryland mall shooter in search for motive
Teen suspected of killing sister over laundry

20 children hospitalized for gun injuries every day in US
Woman mysteriously vanishes  
Penn State student charged with building WMDs
Officials: SC State Univ. shooting victim has died 

So now I understand why people think crime is getting worse even though it is not, as shown in this figure from Gallup:

 
Now, the crime rate has in fact increased for the past two years, so technically these people are not incorrect. But the fact remains that fear does not match reality: People THINK they are likely to be victimized by serious, violent street crime when in fact the odds are highly in their favor that they will not.