‘This is horrific’: Friends of woman killed in Antioch mourn as police share new details on the case

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake provided more details about a case involving a deadly shooting in Antioch and the unique way they identified the suspect.

“I was worried this could be someone that could do this over and over, so I’m so thankful that our people got on this,” Drake said at a Tuesday press conference.

News 2 also spoke to the childhood friend of victim Alyssa Lokits. Metro police said that 29-year-old Paul Park was taken into custody less than 24 hours after the attack.

“Alyssa was a wonderful person and this is horiffic,” longtime friend of Lokits, Daniel Frazier, told News 2.

Frazier showed News 2 an image of their travels together through Europe.

“There were a lot of people in her life that loved and admired her and this is just a horrible tragedy,” Frazier said.

Investigators said that Lokits was walking along the Mill Creek Greenway on Monday evening when Park followed her and attacked her. Drake said at Tuesday’s press conference that a preliminary investigation suggested that they didn’t know each other.

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“In fact, someone heard her yell, ‘Help, he’s trying to rape me,’ before gunfire was heard,” Drake added.

Hours later, police got a break in the case. A Tesla driver provided police with dash cam footage of Park before and after the crime. Drake added that an officer recognized Park because of a 2021 case involving his twin brother.

“Our TITANS team — undercover detectives — set up on Park’s house in Brentwood and followed him and took him into custody shortly after warrants were issued for his arrest at 3 p.m.,” Drake said.

Frazier said that it’s been hard to come to terms with losing Lokits.

“I kept expecting someone to say this hadn’t happened and all this isn’t real,” Frazier said. “I’m still in disbelief, for the most part, that this could happen — something that appears so random and shocking.”

Frazier added that knowing Park is into custody brought him some peace. Drake added that before this homicide charge, Park didn’t have a violent criminal history in Davidson County.

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell praised detectives’ work on the arrest, adding that he mourns the passing of Lokits as well.

“Their quick and thorough work to apprehend dangerous criminals shows: when you commit a serious crime in our city, we’re going to use every resource available to bring justice to the victims,” O’Connell said in a follow-up post to X, formerly Twitter.

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