NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It was a frightening weekend for 2 women in Nashville.
They were both attacked when they were outside - and Metro police don't think the cases are connected. In both cases, good samaritans were able to scare off the attackers.
Alexandra explains both cases in the player above.
Metro police say a 30-year-old woman was walking home at 1:45 a.m. on Saturday when she was grabbed from behind and knocked to the ground by a man who was trying to pull her clothes off. He was described as a white man with blonde hair wearing a flannel jacket and jeans with a backpack.
It happened on 11th Avenue North. Police say the woman put up a fight and a witness in a nearby parking garage started yelling and it scared off the suspect.
Lauren Patrick works in the Capitol View neighborhood and said it's concerning.
“I feel like a lot of people in Nashville are kind of transplants, so some people in Nashville might not realize that there are still some places like this that can happen but it’s still a good city, there are great areas, it’s just a couple of bad people.”
She said it's a reminder to be on alert. "Walk in groups, stay in groups, make sure you have someone relatively near, someone knows where you’re going," Patrick said.
In a separate case on Sunday, police were called to the Cumberland River Greenway to investigate an attempted rape at 2nd Avenue North and Cement Plant Road.
A runner was put into a chokehold and slammed into a fence. A witness saw the suspect on top of the 25-year-old, pulled him off, and he ran away.
Before the attack, the suspect was seen walking away from a nearby homeless camp according to sex crimes detectives. He was described a middle-aged white man with tan skin and facial hair. He was wearing jeans and dark shoes that looked like slippers.
One Saturday, police apprehended a suspect in the Cumberland River Greenway attack.
BREAKING: Sex Crimes detectives tonight are charging Christopher Chapman, 43, with attempted rape for last Sunday's attack on the Cumberland River Greenway. Analysis of evidence by MNPD crime lab scientists helped lead to the development of Chapman as a suspect. He's in custody. pic.twitter.com/g0bas7SlZi
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) February 10, 2024
Mayor Freddie O'Connell says the city is working to hire more police officers.
"It is our intention for our greenways to be safe, it is our intention for city streets and sidewalks to be safe," O'Connell said.
If you recognize either one of these men - call Crime Stoppers at 615-74-CRIME.
There are still so many families in East Tennessee hurting following the floods from Hurricane Helene in September. That made this year's running of the Santa Train extra special for many families in the northeast part of the state. This special Santa Express has been making an annual run in part of Appalachia for over 80 years.
-Lelan Statom
