In the spring of 2022, a promising young life was tragically cut short in a burst of violence at a local park. Cashawn Glaze-Hopkins, a 15-year-old male student from Del City High School, was fatally shot on Friday, May 20, 2022, at Joe B. Barnes Regional Park in Midwest City, a suburb of Oklahoma City. Remembered by his mother as a protector and a hard worker who dreamed of following in his father's footsteps, Cashawn had just completed his sophomore year and was a member of the school's track
team.
On that sunny afternoon, the park was filled with families and children enjoying the day. A fight suddenly broke out, escalating quickly and tragically into a shootout. According to witnesses and police reports, at least two individuals began firing weapons. In the chaos that ensued, Cashawn and another teenager were struck by gunfire. Both were rushed to a nearby hospital, but sadly, Cashawn did not survive his injuries. His mother later described her son as an innocent bystander, asserting that he was not involved in the altercation and did not have a weapon. She believes he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The investigation into the shooting led Midwest City police to review surveillance footage from the park. The footage reportedly showed an 18-year-old male, identified as Marion Williams, retrieving an AR-15 from a vehicle and exchanging fire with another individual who was armed with a handgun. Williams was subsequently arrested in connection with the incident. At the time of his arrest, law enforcement officials indicated that they anticipated making additional arrests as their investigation continued. The tragic death of Cashawn Glaze-Hopkins left his family and the Del City community mourning the loss of a young man with a bright future ahead of him.
