Area retailers said they can't keep up with the demand for pepper spray.
Local sporting good stores and gun shops have sold thousands of the aerosol spray canisters that can incapacitate an attacker by causing temporary blindness, difficulty breathing, a runny nose and coughing.
The killing of Brianna Denison by what police say is a serial rapist has many young women looking for any line of defense, retail clerks said.
"We probably sell 30 to 40 of them a day," said Robert Currier of the Scotland Yard Spy Shop on Virginia Street. "We have a list of 30 people who have already paid and are waiting for us to stock it again."
The REI store has been turning away customers looking for a spray used to fend off bear attacks as a method of defense.
"Bear spray is not for anyone looking for a product for personal safety," said James Hedges, a manager at REI.