ANDOVER, Minn. - The death of Kareen Hopkins has shocked and saddened his Anoka High School schoolmates, his friends and his family. Hopkins collapsed after a pick-up basketball game Saturday evening at the Andover Community Center.
The 17-year-old Hopkins had a well-documented heart problem but insisted on playing the sports he loved anyway, according to his older brother, Juvonta Spencer, 18.
"Even though he had the heart problem, he still strived himself, played hard at everything he do, even though he knew the risks," said Spencer, who was with Hopkins when he collapsed.
"He stopped and he was staring at me and I could see it in his face and I instantly knew that it was the heart problem," said Spencer. "I ran up to him and I put my hand on his chest and I wanted him to say something like just a word or something, but he could not say nothing and he fell. I was holding him, yelling for help 'my little brother, he passed out!'"
Spencer contended that "no one there knew CPR." However, Andover Recreation Manager Erick Sutherland said that all Community Center staff have annual CPR and AED training. "Both of my two main staff that were on site that evening, both had just recently actually, completed a CPR and AED training course just back in October," Sutherland told KARE 11.
Sutherland explained that there are multiple automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in the center. "We were fortunate that an [off duty] Andover firefighter was in the building. So, within about a minute of 911 being called and our staff responding, the Andover firefighter was on the scene with the young man. At that point, [he] directed my staff to go grab the AED and it is my understanding that it was used."
Spencer said on Monday that he believed it was several minutes before an ambulance arrived to take his brother to Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids where the teen was pronounced dead. "When all that went down, it seemed like time was moving so slow because he was on the ground," Spencer said. "It was hard."
Kareen Hopkins' family gathered around the teen's grandmother and guardian, Renee Spencer, on Monday. She spoke lovingly of her grandson. "He was really a good boy, smiling and playing with the children. He was always considerate how other people felt. He was just a loving child. He loved his [six] brothers and sisters and his family."
Renee Spencer recalled her last moments with her son on Saturday. "He was asking me 'Is it okay for me to go out?' because they had been in the house for the week doing housework. I was like 'Oh, yeah. You have been in all week, during school break. Yes, you can go out.' And the last words I got from him, 'Thank you, Grandma,'" said Spencer.
The Anoka-Hennepin School District issued a notification to parents in the district to be alert to changes in behavior of their children as word spread of Kareen Hopkins' death. Hopkins was regarded as a very popular boy in school. Officials are concerned that some teens might overreact.
Funeral Arrangements for Kareen Hopkins are not complete.
The fund has been set up at Wells Fargo Bank, and any bank will take donations. The fund is called the "Kareen Hopkins Memorial Fund."
(Copyright 2011 by KARE. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. )
You Might Be Interested In