FLINT, Michigan — Mayor Dayne Walling called it one of the worst public safety crises in the city’s history. Everyone was talking about it.

Residents were looking over their shoulders, fearing they might be the next victim.

For 10 days, Flint was in the national spotlight — again for the wrong reasons — as police went on a nationwide manhunt for a serial killer who stabbed 18 people in three states, killing five in the Flint area.

Police arrested Elias Abuelazam, 33, a party store clerk , as he prepared to board a flight to Tel Aviv, Israel, and as word spread Thursday of his capture, an undeniable sense of relief came over the city.

It was much different from the mood before the world learned Abuelazam’s name.

Before there was fear.

Flint Journal reporter David Harris and photographer Cassi Alexandra spent hours talking to people on Flint streets late Tuesday and early Wednesday — times when the serial killer often struck. They spoke with people unwilling to surrender to unknown threats lurking in the night.

They found the streets filled with people who are tough, even vigilant, in the face of adversity.

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“Most of the time when I’m out, I am aware of my surroundings,” said Dexter Proctor, 36, of Flint, who picked up a case a beer with a few friends at the South End Deli party store around 11 p.m. Tuesday on Saginaw and 12th streets. “When I see someone, I don’t allow them into my personal space.”

The party store is in the same area where a 59-year-old man was stabbed at about 6 a.m. July 29. The man survived the attacks.

Still, there was a constant flow of customers in and out of the store. Bypassers often stopped to say hello to the neighborhood’s familiar faces.

Business still is steady right until the store closes at 2 a.m., said employee George Shamma.

Proctor refused to be scared. So did Tony Tindle, 40.

“He’s driving around just to stab people,” Tindle said. “Why would someone do that to people?”

He refuses to be intimidated.

“I got something for him,” said Tindle, who pulled a knife with a 6-inch blade from his pocket. “You have to protect yourself at all costs. If you don’t, you won’t survive.”

The night was bustling on King Avenue around midnight. People were out walking, biking and even barbecuing at the corner of Pasadena Avenue.

Robert Joy of Flint manned the grill.

It smoked with chicken and ribs outside Max Beef Barbecue as it has on most weekdays for the last two summers. People drove up to the tent and ordered late-night snacks.

Still, life has been a little different lately.

There are fewer customers and more employees around. And, more nervousness.

“You always have to watch your back,” Joy said.

At the Stop-n-Go party store on the corner of Pierson and Fleming roads, a sketch of the serial killer was posted outside by the door.

Someone scribbled “Kill At Will” in blue marker next to the man’s face.

The serial killer is believed to have struck there, stabbing a 26-year-old Antwoine Marshall at 3 a.m. July 27. He also survived from his attack and was recovering.

Violence here isn’t rare, said

Dennis Guidry, 54, a worker of the Shop-n-Go party store

.

“Do I look like I’m intimidated?” he said. “He’s somebody that’s weak. He’s a coward.”

Much like the South End Deli, this party store was bustling with people. Guidry said the serial killer wasn’t going to stop people from going about their business.

Chris Jones of Flint walked down Fleming Road around midnight. He carried a 3-foot-long stick.

It’s his protection, he said.

“I just picked this up,” he said. “He ain’t going to catch me. Somebody’s going to kill him.”

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Twenty-four hours later, Abuelazam was in custody.

Retired Flint schoolteacher Maryann Zimmer, a city resident, hopes authorities got the right guy.

Though Zimmer, who is white and female, doesn’t match the profile of the victims, she still was concerned about the violence.

“My son from New York called me and told me to stay off Saginaw Street,” she said.

Walling said he even made changes to his own schedule, knowing the serial killer was on the streets.

And, ultimately, he credited the public for active help in the investigation.

“The horrific nature of these attacks, the large number of victims, all the unknown questions when the investigation started — this was an investigation with a complexity and scope that will be a once-in-a-lifetime event for everyone that’s involved,” said Walling.