ANTIOCH, Tenn. (WTVF) — Metro Nashville Police say 34-year-old Alyssa Lokits was shot and killed around 5:30 p.m. Monday evening, as she was working out at the Mill Creek Greenway in Antioch.
The suspected shooter, 29-year-old Paul Park, was arrested Tuesday afternoon and is now in custody.
What happened?
Witnesses originally said they heard a woman yelling for help, “Help! He’s trying to rape me,” and then gunfire. The man took off in a dark-colored 4-door sedan headed towards Old Hickory Boulevard.
Police say Lokits was shot once in the head. She was found in an overgrown area and rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she died.
"We also had a south officer that responded to the victim, and as she was laying on the ground with a head wound, he put his hand over her head, with a head compression trying to press the wound, and trying to comfort her and tell her help is on the way. And he has to live with that," Chief John Drake said in a press conference Tuesday night.
It appears Lokits lived nearby and worked as an IT and cybersecurity professional.
How was the suspect found?
A local resident provided police with footage from the dashcam of their car, which was parked at the greenway trailhead.
“It gave a very vivid description of the car, and there was also witness there that gave us partial tag," Chief Drake said.
Then on Tuesday morning, Homicide Detective Shannon Forsyth reviewed a photo of the suspect and recognized him as the identical twin brother from a suicide case she worked in December 2021.
With this combined evidence, less than 24 hours after the incident took place, Special Investigations Division detectives followed Parks out of his Brentwood home, arrested him and brought him into custody.
A greenway is one of the last places someone would expect a crime of this nature. People who we talked to who use Mill Creek Greenway said they expect it to be quiet and trouble-free.
"You hear all the wildlife noises. You hear the squirrels and chipmunks. There's always some sort of cracking in the brush, but I got to be even more cognizant of my surroundings," Timothy Reynolds.
We know these details are difficult. You can count on us to keep following this story beyond just these initial headlines.
What more do we know about the suspect?
Park was charged with domestic assault in December 2017. He was also charged with a probation violation the following year.
This case will now move on to a grand jury.
We asked Drake how he is feeling after all the incidents this weekend. Hear part of what he had to say below.
Get ready to get inspired - Tad found a second purpose later in life, turning his hobby into his full-time gig. He helps the planet, helps homeowners and finds fulfillment in a slower pace after being on the front-line during the pandemic.
-Rebecca Schleicher
