On a cold November night in Gary, Indiana, the promising life of 20-year-old Patrick Hopson Jr. was tragically cut short. A graduate of West Side High School and a sophomore at Alabama A&M College, Patrick was a young Black/African American man with a bright future. He was gainfully employed at a Johnson & Johnson warehouse and was a cherished son, brother, and grandson.
On the evening of November 21, 2014, residents in the Glen Park area of Gary heard the sound of gunfire and alerted
the authorities. Responding officers discovered a heart-wrenching scene on Massachusetts Street. Inside a parked SUV with a temporary license plate, they found Patrick Hopson Jr. and another young man, Avery Flynn, both 20 years old, shot to death in the front seats.
The neighborhood where the two men were found was known to police for drug-related activities, though investigators found no weapons or drugs inside the vehicle. The tragic discovery left more questions than answers and plunged two families into a state of profound grief. The Gary Police Department's Violent Crimes Unit urged anyone with information to come forward, appealing to the community for assistance in solving the senseless crime.
Despite the passage of time, the double homicide of Patrick Hopson Jr. and Avery Flynn remains an unsolved case. No arrests have ever been announced, and no suspects have been publicly identified in connection with the killings. The lack of witnesses and evidence has presented significant challenges for law enforcement, leaving the families of the two young men without closure. The community is still waiting for justice to be served in a case that stole the futures of two of its sons.
