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Right now the Round Rock Police Department is looking for a man who they say attacked a woman on Sunday morning. It happened while she was jogging on the Brushy Creek Trail.
The Round Rock Police Department says just after 7:30 Sunday morning near Kenney Fort Boulevard is where a man attempted to assault her. Officials say after he attacked her, she fought him off and was able to get away where others helped call for help.
Runners on the trail Sunday afternoon say they're surprised to hear about the attack.
"It seems like such an enclosed area and there's like nothing really around here,” Kayleen Beaton says.
Round Rock authorities are actively searching for the suspect. He’s is described as a Hispanic male in his mid 20s to early 30s. He's between 5'7' and 5'10'' with short black hair and soul patch facial hair.
He was last seen wearing a black baseball cap, gray shirt and black or blue gym shorts with a white stripe down the side--and black basketball shoes.
"It's a bad situation because all in all running is a safe sport." Mac Allen has been a running coach for ready to run for more than 11 years. He says it upset him to hear about what happened Sunday morning. "You know, it's not right you should be able to focus on your run and not worry about those kind of things."
The Round Rock Police Department tells FOX 7, people should always be aware of their surroundings. Carry a phone but don't wear both earbuds, and bring a buddy if possible.
Here are safety tips from the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office:
Tips to Help Keep you Safe While on the Trail:
- Be aware of your surroundings- Situational Awareness
- Headphone use – when listening to music keep the volume low or leave one ear uncovered. This will allow you to hear environmental sound. (Speeding car, barking dogs, footsteps, etc.)
- Find a running partner – have 2 or more parties present reduces the risk of assaultive offensives.
- Mix up your routine – human beings are creatures of habit. Make it difficult for predatory offenders to identify patterns.
- Be prepared – having a readily available tool, such as a kubaton, pepper spray, flashlight, provides force multipliers as well as serving as a deterrent for would be aggressors
- Tell a friend where you will be – in a high stress event you will find it difficult to place a call and relay important information.
- Sounds is a weapon – screaming at the top of your lungs not only serves as an alarm but may dissuade would be attackers.
- Don’t hold back – if and when you must use force to protect yourself, do not hesitate to do what is necessary to get away safe.
- Take a self-defense class – anyone can protect themselves, knowing the right techniques can save lives. The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office has provided a self-defense course for over a year free to the public. Contact bschaefer@wilco.org for details.
- Tell your family and/or friends your route and approximate time you will be out. Make this part of your routine and all parties should take serious. Always take notice of what runner is wearing for description purposes if needed later.
- Play the “what if” game. While working out ask yourself what if this happens? What if somebody did this to me here? What would I do? Practice and honestly critique yourself. Remember, you react to a real world situation like you train.
- Remember many social medial work out apps post your locations. If your settings are public, the world already knows your route. Change this setting.
The Round Rock Police Department is still investigating.
Anyone with information is asked to call them.