Nelson E Hopkins, Jr. Scholarship Fund

PRESS

Murder Victim Found With College Application In Pocket

KANSAS CITY, MO - Nelson Hopkins Jr. was a budding scholar, a musician and an ambitious high school student preparing for college. But now he's dead, the victim of what Kansas City, Missouri, Police are calling an act of random violence.

Hopkins, 17, was found shot in the chest near Lydia and 54th Street on Tuesday night. According to police, he had taken the bus from the Plaza branch of the Kansas City Public Library, and was walking home when he was apparently the victim of a robbery gone bad.

"(Hopkins was) well mannered, very respectful, never never never heard him say anything negative, a curse word, anything," said Raul Murguia, Hopkins' mentor and counselor at Alta Vista Charter High School. "He was a person that was just born with a lot of good."

According to Murguia, Hopkins was a standout student who was working hard to escape the violence of his East Side neighborhood. Hopkins routinely woke up early to catch the bus to make it to school on time with his younger sister, Nettie.

"For me, to see the attitude he took toward the world, and the attitude he took towards adversity, it was something to admire," said Murguia.

Hopkins, who was also a budding musician, was interested in international business and journalism, involved in the student council, and was also known to his friends as "Invincible."

But on Tuesday night, that invincibility was shattered as he was shot down and killed on one of the very streets he told his teachers that he was nervous to walk down on his way home. Police suspect that robbery was the motive.

"We got a call from Rockhurst (College) security," said KCPD Capt. Rich Lockhart. "They found Nelson Hopkins on the sidewalk between Lydia and 54th Street."

In Hopkins pants pocket was an application to Truman State University.

Now Hopkins' friends at school are starting a scholarship fund in his honor to help a fellow classmate fulfill his dream of going to college.

"He was not a violent person at all," said Murguia. "This shouldn't happen."

WDAF Fox 4 News-Kansas City

Copyright- December 2, 2009

WHY???

UNSOLVED MURDER OF A GOOD KID

WITH A BRIGHT FUTURE

On December 1, 2009, Nelson E. Hopkins Jr. (Nelson Jr.) was found dead near Rockhurst University by Rockhurst security. He was walking home from the Plaza library with a college application in his pocket when he was shot in the chest, robbed, and left to die on the corner of 54^th & Lydia.

Authorities are unable to solve the case as no information or witnesses have come forward and very little evidence was recovered from the scene of the crime.

In response to this tragedy, Nelson Jr.’s family has started OPERATION PROMISE LAND (OPL).

OPL is a non-profit organization dedicate to providing “responsible citizenship” education to the students, residents, and offenders living in high crime neighborhoods surrounding Rockhurst & UMKC universities. Economically revitalizing the neighborhood and responsible citizenship are the focus of OPL.

To donate please send checks or money orders made payable to: OPERATION PROMISE LAND, P.O. Box 270166, Kansas City, Missouri 64127. Or, give at any United Missouri Bank (UMB). All gifts are tax deductible. To learn how you can help, visit our website at: www.operationpromiselandkc.org. or call (816) 217-2033.

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