NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Chilling new details reveal how a nursing student on a Georgia campus was killed while on a run. According to arrest documents, the suspect, Jose Ibarra, used an unspecified object to cause blunt-force trauma.
In Nashville, female runners are now banning together and shining a light on the dangers of running alone.
“Running has definitely been my outlet,” Caroline Holland said.
Holland is training for her first full marathon.
“Running is very time-consuming, sometimes it can feel like a very lonely process when you’re training for a marathon,” she said.
Now, she said she can’t run without fear. This comes after nursing student Laken Riley was killed on a Georgia campus while out on a run.
“She was on a campus. I’m always told ‘stay on Vanderbilt’s campus, go in the daylight, have your phone on you, have the open earphones, and it made me realize you can’t run alone as a girl no matter how prepared you are,” Holland said.
Just days after this tragedy, Holland created her own female running group called Chicks with Kicks.
“It’s a big female running group and the point of it is just to have a platform to send a text and say ‘Hey I’m going on a run tomorrow at 7 a.m. who wants to join me?’” Holland said.
And so far, dozens of girls have joined in on the idea.
“I have 70 girls. I had no idea this many girls ran on campus,” she said.
She said its just one solution after recent incidents across the country.
Just weeks ago in Nashville, a man was arrested after allegedly attempting to rape a 25-year-old woman while running on a greenway in Germantown.
Holland said she’s experienced her own terrifying moments.
“I’ve been chased by homeless people, I’ve been followed by cars, there have been multiple times where I’ve had to call an Uber to safely get back home. I feel like when I’m alone I can never enjoy my run I’m always on guard,” Holland said.