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Woman shot dead while walking on trail in Nashville; suspect recognized as twin brother from different case
A woman was shot to death while walking on a trail in Nashville, and police said they arrested her suspected killer Tuesday and charged the man with her murder. To identify him, authorities followed an unusual trail of clues that ended with one detective recognizing the suspect as the identical twin of someone involved in a case three years ago.
Alyssa Lokits, 34, was found dead from a gunshot wound Monday in an overgrown area of the Mill Creek Greenway, a nature trail in the Antioch neighborhood, the Nashville Police Department said. Their investigation revealed Lokits was exercising on the trail when a man emerged from between two parked cars and started to follow her.
Witnesses reported hearing her scream, “Help! He’s trying to rape me,” before hearing gunfire, according to police. The suspect was apparently seen where Lokits’ bonear dy was found, and, shortly after, returning to his own car with scratches on his arms and blood on his clothing.
The suspect was seen following Lokits in video footage that also showed him returning to his car with cuts and bloodied clothing. Nashville Police said the footage came from the dash camera of a local resident whose car was parked in that area. The footage gave police clear images of the suspect and his vehicle, a BMW sedan, while a witness partially recalled his license plate number, they said.
A homicide detective reviewed the images Tuesday morning and identified the suspect, after recognizing him as the identical twin brother from a suicide case that she had worked in December 2021, police said.
Detectives with the police department’s homicide and special investigations division issued an arrest warrant charging the suspect, 29-year-old Paul Park, with criminal homicide.
Officers had set up surveillance at Park’s home and took him into custody as soon as the warrant came down. They stopped him while he was out driving, just miles from the greenway where Lokits was killed.
Park was booked on the homicide charge and is currently being held in the Davidson County jail, records show. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance Thursday.
Lokits lived near the greenway and worked in IT and cybersecurity, CBS News affiliate WTVF reported. She was shot once in the head and rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she died, according to the station.
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Teacher, student killed in Wisconsin school shooting identified
A teacher and student killed in a shooting earlier this week at a school in Madison, Wisconsin, were identified Wednesday by authorities.
The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a news release provided to CBS News that 42-year-old Erin West and 14-year-old Rubi Vergara were fatally shot Monday morning at Abundant Life Christian School.
Preliminary examinations determined the two died of “homicidal firearm related trauma.” Both were pronounced dead at the scene, the medical examiner said.
An online obituary on a local funeral site stated Vergara was a freshman who leaves behind her parents, one brother, and a large extended family. It described her as “an avid reader” who “loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band.”
West’s exact position with the school was unclear.
The medical examiner also confirmed that a preliminary autopsy found that the suspected shooter, 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow — a student at the same school — was pronounced dead at a local hospital Monday of “firearm related trauma.” Madison Chief of Police Shon F. Barnes had previously told reporters that Rupnow was pronounced dead while being transported to a hospital.
Police had also previously stated that she was believed to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooting at the private Christian K-12 school was reported just before 11 a.m. Monday. In addition to the two people killed and the shooter, six others were wounded.
Police said the shooting occurred in a classroom where a study hall was taking place involving students from several grades.
A handgun was recovered after the shooting, Barnes said, but it was unclear where the gun came from or how many shots were fired. A law enforcement source said the weapon used in the shooting appears to have been a 9 mm pistol.
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contributed to this report.
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Last-minute government funding bill in limbo after opposition from Trump, others
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