close
close

Association-anemone

Bite-sized brilliance in every update

Memorial run planned for woman killed in Nashville
asane

Memorial run planned for woman killed in Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Middle Tennessee runners held an evening run to remember a woman who was killed while jogging on a greenway in Nashville in October.

On Monday, Nov. 4, people are urged to come out, wherever they are, and run at 5 p.m. to honor 34-year-old Alyssa Lokits, who was running when she was attacked and killed on Oct. 14. The Nashville area will participate, but runners from around the country are also expected to participate.

“Run for Alyssa” has become a rallying cry for people in the Nashville area and beyond who are outraged that another woman was killed while running.

Online posts expressing disbelief at Lokits death littered social platforms. Women lament that it has become increasingly dangerous for them to run alone, even in broad daylight.

Lokits was jogging on the Mill Creek Greenway on Oct. 14 when Paul Park, 29, allegedly attacked her, sexually assaulted her, then shot her in the face when she screamed for help. The incident happened between 5-5:30

Several memorial “Run for Alyssa” races have already been held since Lokits’ death. A Hendersonville running club honored her memory with a group run on Oct. 16, and hundreds of people turned out to run on the same Greenway trail where she was killed on Oct. 21.

Park is scheduled to appear in court to face a manslaughter charge in Lokits’ death.