Woman Killed on Trail While Exercising After Witnesses Hear Scream: 'He's Trying to Rape Me'

Authorities in Tennessee have arrested a man in connection with the fatal shooting of a woman who police allege was abducted while exercising on a popular hiking trail this week.

Alyssa Lokits, 34, was exercising on the Mill Creek Greenway trail in Nashville, Tenn., when a man allegedly attacked her on Monday, Oct. 14, according to assertions made by police at a press conference live streamed by FOX Nashville .

On Tuesday, police arrested 29-year-old Paul Park in connection with Lokits' death, the Metro Nashville Police Department announced on social media.

MNPD Chief John Drake said at the press conference they believe Lokits was exercising on the trail when she was allegedly abducted.

Investigators claim Lokits was walking in the area when Park allegedly emerged from between two parked vehicles and "began following her at a brisk pace," MNPD said in a press release .

The two soon left the view of the camera. After an unspecified amount of time, witnesses heard a woman scream: "Help! He's trying to rape me," per the statement. They then heard gunfire.

A short time later, Park was seen with blood on his clothes and scratches on his arms as he returned to his vehicle, identified as a BMW sedan, per the statement.

Drake said at the press conference that authorities believe Park allegedly abducted Lokits and took her into an overgrown area and attempted to sexually assault her. Per the MNPD press statement, Park was allegedly spotted in the "overgrown area" where Lokits' body would later be found.

On Monday evening, police received dashcam footage from a local resident whose vehicle was parked at the Greenway trailhead, police said in the statement. The footage showed a clear image of Park's BMW, and police used that information, along with a partial tag provided by another witness, to track down Park.

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Lokits graduated in 2017 from Vanderbilt University after studying neuroscience, the university confirms to PEOPLE.

"There were a lot of people in her life that loved and admired her and this is just a horrible tragedy," her friend Daniel Frazie told WKRN .

"She was just incredibly kind to me and the neighbors adored her," her neighbor Guy Gilchrist told FOX 17 .

Fleet Feet Nashville, a resource and training provider for the local running and walking community, is organizing a group run and moment of silence in Lokits' honor on Wednesday evening.

"When tragedy happens in the run community, it is felt in a deep way," the group said in a Facebook post . "We are at a loss of words to see such violence take place in our own backyard."