Teen Targeted: What Lily Can Teach You

The random killing of 17-year-old Lily Burk has shocked a Los Angeles community and has parents across the country reeling.

CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughes reported on "The Early Show" Wednesday that 17-year-old Lily Burk, an only child, was running errands for her mother Saturday. When Burk stopped to pick up exams at Southwestern Law School near downtown Los Angeles, where her mother works, the unthinkable happened.

As Burk returned to her car, says the Los Angeles Police Department, Charlie Samuel approached and abducted her.

The LAPD says it has surveillance video showing Samuel behind the wheel of Burk's black Volvo, driving away from the school.

Police say Samuels then forced Burk to go to ATMs to try to withdraw money with her credit card. Burk even called her parents twice to ask how to do it.

Soon after, police say, Samuels murdered her, then parked her car on Skid Row and wandered around the area, gripping a beer in a paper bag. He was later picked up by police for public intoxication, Hughes reported.

Is there anything you can do to protect yourself or your children when you or they are in similar circumstances?

Child safety expert Robin Sax, a former Los Angeles County deputy district attorney and author of "Predators and Child Molesters," said on "The Early Show" Wednesday that parents and kids need to have a code word that can fit into conversations naturally, but be an indicator that something is wrong, signalling an emergency.

Sax recommended the word "ATM."

"(An) ATM is a place where no one should make a phone call anyway, as you need undivided attention. And if you say, 'I'm calling from the ATM,' that means there's danger."

Sax added Burk didn't want to appear racist. Burk, who had worked with the homeless, Sax said, wanted to appear kind and give the benefit of the doubt to the stranger.

However, Sax said, you should trust your instincts and be a little judgmental when it comes to safety.

Co-anchor Harry Smith remarked Burk was probably thinking that she had to stay cool throughout the abduction. Could she have done something to alert people on the street that she was in trouble?

Sax said one tip is to scream "FIRE!" because people respond to the word, rather than "HELP!"

She also recommended that, in an abduction situation, you do anything you can to buy yourself time. Sax recommended gouging the perpetrator with keys or hitting someone with your elbow.

"The goal isn't to win a fight or succeed," Sax told Smith. "The goal is to get a minute, buy a minute of time, so you can run and get some help."

However, to avoid becoming a target to begin with, Sax said people should avoid multi-tasking while on the go.

"We have our hands in cell phones, we have our Starbucks in hand, and we're doing many things," she said. "We need to have our heads up, looking people straight in the eyes, appearing confident."

And finally, Sax said, in this economy, it's important to watch what you wear.

"Watch our jewels; watch our purses, (and) our labels, so we don't appear to be an easy target."