LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Jaden Barker's weekend morning run at Beckley Creek Park was supposed to be long and uneventful.

"I started my run, I was passing people, saying 'Good morning', having a great run," Barker said Monday. "And then I got to the wooded part of my run."

Around 9:30 a.m. Sunday, in broad daylight at Beckley Creek Park, Barker noticed a man in a surgical mask.

"Something told me to get out my mace," she said. "It wasn't like he was giving off the creepy vibe. ... Intuition told me I needed it out. So I got it out and I actually opened it. And I was running it with my hand, on the little trigger."

It was the right decision, because moments later is when Barker claims she was attacked by that man on a trail in a wooded area of the park.

"I saw his shadow right behind me and I turned," she said. "And then that's when he grabbed my hips and slammed me to the ground and started pulling off my pants. I had scratch marks down my legs. And from there, I was macing him, hitting him in the face. And then he got up and ran away."

Barker said she ran the other way, through the woods and to the road, calling for help. She was able to flag down a car and eventually call police. She said the attacker was a white man with brown hair, about 6 feet tall and wearing grey joggers with a grey sweatshirt. He was also wearing a black mask.

Louisville Metro Police said the case has already been assigned to detectives, but no one has been arrested.

"I thought I was going to die," Barker said. "... You never think it's going to happen to you until it does. If I wasn't so prepared, the outcome would have been so much worse. I probably wouldn't have been able to get away."

Now, after a harrowing experience, Barker hopes the person responsible is caught but also wants this to send a message:

"I am scared of the world, because people are capable of doing something in broad daylight," she said. "It's just terrifying. And I just want every girl to know that the world is is a bad place now, and they need to be prepared in any instance"

Anyone with information in this case is asked to call LMPD's anonymous Crime Tip Line at 502-574-LMPD (5673). Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the department's online Crime Tip Portal by clicking here.

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