Fort Worth police have released a sketch of the man who attacked a woman at gunpoint earlier this month on the Trinity Trails.
The woman was walking her dogs on the evening of Aug. 4 when the man approached. The woman was able to quickly escape and run away from the man.
She described the assailant as a very pale white man in his early 20s, approximately 6 feet 2 inches tall and 275-300 pounds, with curly black hair. He was wearing a black T-shirt, black loose-fitting pants and black tennis shoes. He has a slight protruding forehead and had a white hand towel draped over his arm.
The victim, who informed her neighborhood association about the attack, spoke with NBC 5 off-camera on Thursday.
She said she was walking on the trail at White Settlement Road just east of Isbell Road when the attacker passed by her. As he did so, he asked about the breed of her dogs, which were off-leash walking in front of her.
The victim answered and continued on her walk. She said about 300 yards down the trail he grabbed her from behind, put one arm around her neck and pointed a gun to her head.
She said the man's grip was not very tight and she was able to slip away. In her note to her neighbors she wrote, "I immediately squatted to the ground screaming and then just started running."
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"I was fortunate that his grip was not too tight around my neck," she continued. "I ran 15-20 feet and turned around and he had the gun pointed at me and I took off running/screaming in the opposite direction. I did not stop for quite a while and when I looked back he was gone."
"He must have been following close behind me for a while," she added. "I never heard him or sensed him."
It's a rare incident of violent crime on the trails and one that has shocked fellow users, like Alicia Crosswhite, who works at Fort Worth Running Company near the trail.
"That was a little upsetting, because that is more of a populated area of the trail. There are usually a lot of joggers and cyclists," Crosswhite said. "It's kind of upsetting that it would happen there."
The victim was told by responding officers that there hadn't been anything like her attack happen on the trails in the area in at least three years.
According to NBC 5 archives, the last attack in the area happened in June 2013 when two men attacked a male jogger at knife-point, stealing his wallet and leaving him with some cuts and bruises.
The victim admits that she was distracted — talking on her cell phone with a friend and watching her dogs. It's something Crosswhite said many trail users are guilty of because the trails are so safe in Fort Worth.
"With the trail system here, we get used to crime being so low, not have to worry about that," Crosswhite said. "It's really important to be diligent and not wear headphones, or at least leave one out, and try to be aware of your surroundings at all times."
The victim said she'll be more aware from now on and plans to walk along busier stretches of the trail system.
Fort Worth police offered the following safety tips:
- Run in groups or at least with one other person.
- Don't talk to strangers.
- Always be alert to your surroundings.
- Create a person of contact before and after your walk or run. So they know you made it home safely.
- Make sure you have identification on you if injury or assault does take place.
