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Warren councilman says teen's killing shows ease of getting guns
WARREN
An 18-year-old woman’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 about 9:15 p.m. Friday during a birthday party at the city’s Perkins Park on Mahoning Avenue Northwest. 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.
Based on a model program in Cleveland, Dean said he approached about 25 pastors last year to set up a way to have residents turn in guns at either churches or other locations in exchange for gift certificates to department stores. But only two pastors expressed interest in the program, and no one in city government or the Warren school district wanted to participate, he said.
Despite this shooting death, Dean said he doesn’t believe Perkins Park is a violent area.
A day before the shooting, Dean said he and his wife attended a concert with hundreds of others at the park, and there were many people at Perkins for soccer games.
“There was no thought that the park wasn’t safe [on Thursday], and I still don’t think that’s the case” after the fatal shooting, he said.