Warren council president: Park shooting illustrates ease of kids getting guns

WARREN

An 18-year-old girl’s death, which occurred at a birthday party at Perkins Park, is a dangerous example of how “easy it is for teenagers to get guns” and the deadly consequences, says Bob Dean, city council president.

Police didn’t respond Saturday to numerous attempts by The Vindicator to provide any information on the death. But 21 WFMJ-TV, the newspaper’s broadcast partner, confirmed the victim as McKayla Hopkins of Warren, who died from a single gunshot wound to her torso.

Hopkins was shot at about 9:15 p.m. Friday during a birthday party at the city’s Perkins Park on Mahoning Avenue N.W. She died a few hours later.

Warren police hadn’t arrested anyone in the shooting, as of late Saturday.

Dean said Saturday that the fatal shooting highlights the problems of gun violence among teens.

“If kids are outside fighting and arguing and the police come, those who run away immediately are the ones with guns,” he said. “If there are 30 kids fighting, there are at least three or four guns.”

Dean has spent the past few years working to get guns off the city’s streets with no success, and very little cooperation.

Read more about his efforts in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.