Council member John Rutherford for District 31 told News 2 that even before this attack, there were safety concerns about the Mill Creek Greenway.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A man is in custody after being accused of killing a woman on an Antioch greenway.
On Tuesday, Metro Police arrested and marched 29-year-old Paul Park into Metro Police Headquarters in handcuffs. The arrest came less than 24 hours after 34-year-old Alyssa Lokits was shot and killed while exercising on the Mill Creek Greenway trail around 5:30 p.m. when people heard her yelling for help.
The woman was found with a gunshot wound. Her car was parked less than a mile away at the Orchard Bend Park trailhead. Police said that Park is from Brentwood and it has not yet been confirmed whether he knew the victim or if the attack was random.
“It is just heartbreaking,” Rose Thomas, a nearby resident, said. “It was just unbelievable that one of our neighbors went out for a walk and didn’t get to come home.”
On Tuesday morning, before the arrest, law enforcement and an ATF Detection K9 were at the trailhead searching for remaining evidence. Thomas said their neighbors heard gunshots from the greenway every now and then, but to hear them at 5:30 p.m. was unusual.
Thomas told News 2 the shooting may have deterred people from walking the trail Tuesday morning.
“Even this morning, I went on the trail, but I took my dog, which I don’t usually do,” Thomas said. “I had my mace. I had my earbuds in, but I didn’t have anything going on because I thought I just really wanted to be aware. I did notice I didn’t see a lot of my regulars this morning.”
“I am constantly watching my back,” neighbor Maddie Vandiver explained. “This is very tucked away.”
Councilmember John Rutherford for District 31 told News 2 that even before this attack, there were safety concerns about the Mill Creek Greenway.
“It has been ongoing, and we have been continually requesting improved safety in that area,” Rutherford said. “Now, we are seeing the results of that.”
Neighbors of the greenway said there are not a lot of safety precautions in place for the trails. Some residents said that safety concerns have piled up, including recurring car break-ins at the trail parking lots and the lack of lighting, security cameras and gates.
“My neighbor parks his car in the front of our house,” resident Jeff Wells explained. “…He said he did that because he heard there were a lot of car break-ins in the greenway parking lot.”
Vandiver explained that there is a lack of lighting on certain parts of the greenway.
“Every couple of months, the police department will set up a mobile surveillance unit with flashing blue lights and cameras as a deterrent,” Wells explained.
Rutherford told News 2 that the temporary mobile units aren’t effective at combatting crime.
“It gives people a sense of safety, but it is not necessarily improving over time because it is not permanent, and so that may be a false sense [of safety] if you will,” Rutherford said.
According to Rutherford, the Metro Nashville Police Department and Metro Parks have considered closing the trailhead from the parking lot off Old Hickory Boulevard.
“It’s only a few parking spots, and it has been troublesome for a number of reasons,” Rutherford explained. “The neighborhood adjacent to it has raised some concerns over that. Along with the lighting, along with gates, along with anything else that we can come up with Metro Parks to address it from a safety standpoint.”