Wednesday, July 19, 2017
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
The shooting Monday night of a young man at the basketball courts at Highland Terrace apartments won’t stop progress that has been made in providing increasing opportunities in the neighborhood, Pastor Todd Johnson said.
“This community has taken a turn for the better, but things will happen. All we can do is continue to push forward,” he said.
“We’re a small city with a lot of urban areas ... but that’s why we’re here,” he said of his ministry at Second Baptist Church on Main Avenue Southwest on the edge of the Trumbull Metropolitan Housing Authority complex.
A man, 19, who lives in Highland Terrace, was struck by two gunshots – one in the leg and one in the stomach – at 8:33 p.m., police said. He was taken to a hospital.
Police say they have not made an arrest, but they expect surveillance cameras installed at the courts to help solve the crime.
Pastor Johnson was one of the partners who worked with TMHA to build the basketball courts a couple months ago and to build a baseball field last year. Construction on a new playground will begin this week, he said.
“All you can do is take note of the trends and address it,” he said. Late Monday, after learning about the shooting, Johnson used Facebook to invite men, especially black men from Warren, to attend the weekly Ignite ministry outreach Tuesday night.
He said the purpose was to “come out and talk to these kids, show them that you care about them with your presence, tell them that this is unacceptable, and commit to having a consistent impact in our neighborhoods.”
The pastor said he would like to meet with the victim of the shooting as well as the person who did the shooting to see if he can help them resolve their differences.
Warren police say Highland Terrace has not been a hot spot for violence in recent years, but the city experienced a lot of shootings last weekend.
Warren police Detective Wayne Mackey said he senses that the conflicts involve young people reacting impulsively with a gun to what he would consider minor issues.
“They’re thinking about the moment, not about what they are going to be doing in two weeks,” Mackey said.
In addition to Monday night’s shooting, five other people were hit by gunfire in four other incidents between Friday and Sunday.
All of the victims were in their teens or 20s, and police believe that in most cases, the victims knew their assailants.