Bystander Recalls Chilling Encounter With Suspect After Nashville Jogger Alyssa Lokits Was Killed

A woman walking along a popular Nashville trail said she had an unsettling encounter with a man she later believed was the suspect in the fatal shooting of 34-year-old Alyssa Lokits. According to her account, the man smiled at her and asked what had happened, even as emergency crews were responding to the scene.

Lokits, a Vanderbilt University graduate, was shot and killed on October 14, 2024, while walking along the Mill Creek Greenway in Nashville, Tennessee. The killing shocked the local community and prompted an urgent police investigation.

A disturbing encounter on the trail

Shannon Howard, a local resident who frequently visited the greenway, told Fox News that she was walking in the area that evening when she saw people gathered around Lokits, who was lying on the ground. People nearby were calling 911 and trying to get help.

Howard eventually made her way toward her car. As she took a different route through a nearby neighborhood, a man driving a gray car pulled alongside her and rolled down his window.

According to Howard, the man asked whether she knew what had happened. She said he smiled while attempting to continue the conversation, leaving her feeling uncomfortable. She eventually ended the interaction and continued home.

At the time, Howard did not know the full circumstances of the shooting. Later, after seeing footage and a booking photograph of the suspect, she believed the man she had encountered was the same person.

Police arrested a suspect less than 24 hours later

Authorities arrested Paul Park, 29, of Brentwood, less than 24 hours after Lokits was found. He was charged with criminal homicide in connection with her death.

Howard told Fox News that recognizing the suspect after the arrest left her shaken. She also expressed anger over the possibility that she had spoken to the man shortly after the shooting.

Her account offered another perspective on the hours surrounding the killing, but her recollection of the encounter is separate from the evidence police used to make the arrest. Authorities had not publicly established a motive in the original report.

A community left searching for answers

The killing raised concerns among people who used the greenway for walking, running and spending time outdoors. Howard described the trail as a place frequented by families, children and local residents, making the violence particularly unsettling for the community.

She said the incident would not stop her from returning to the trail, although it had made her more conscious of her surroundings.

The case also highlights how witnesses may encounter people connected to a crime without immediately realizing the significance of the interaction. For Howard, the memory of that brief conversation took on a different meaning only after she saw the suspect’s photograph.

Source: Fox News