Former Los Angeles Lakers legend and 1987 Defensive Player of the Year Michael Cooper is in mourning after his 64-year-old brother, Mickey Cooper, was shot and killed in Pasadena, California over the weekend.
The shooting was reported around 4 AM on Saturday at Washington Park, Pasadena. Responding police officers arrived at the scene when the department’s ShotSpotter system detected gunfire in the area. That’s where they found a man unresponsive and suffering from gunshot wounds, who was later confirmed to be Mickey Cooper.
Michael has commented on the incident, discussing his brother’s recovery from addiction and how he felt safe in the neighborhood where he ultimately lost his life.
“We lived 10 houses down (from) here. This is a park where we grew up playing. That’s why he felt comfortable and safe here… He just went about his life, didn’t bother anybody, loved everybody. For somebody to come take his life, that nobody loved him? He was loved by a lot of people.”
We at Fadeaway World want to share our condolences with the Cooper family during this incredibly difficult time.
An Arrest Has Been Made In The Case
Pasadena Police has worked fast in this incident and has already arrested a suspect in the Cooper shooting. Aaron Miguel Conell, a 24-year-old local was arrested later on Saturday with alleged links to the body of Mickey Cooper at Pasadena’s Washington Park. He was initially arrested with an unrelated assault charge, but more evidence emerged that made the police comfortable with adding murder to his booking charge.
As far as released information goes, the motive for the killing is unclear. Whether this was premeditated, a robbery gone wrong, or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, this is a tragic incident that will shake the Cooper family to their core. They’ll want to see justice for Mickey and hopefully, the police have apprehended the right person and can bring him to justice.
The Pasadena Police Department has issued a statement on the case and the arrest of Conell.
“Believing this person posed an immediate threat to the public, detectives coordinated an arrest operation with members of the US Marshal’s Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Taskforce, PPD SWAT, and PPD K-9 Unit,” according to a press statement.
The suspect was arrested about 17 hours after Mickey’s body was discovered. Records indicate he is being held on $2 million bail.
Michael Cooper grew up in Pasadena and even played for the Pasadena City College before transferring to further his NBA hopes. He was one of the integral pieces of the ‘Showtime Lakers’, winning five championships with the franchise. He won the 1987 Defensive Player of the Year and played his entire NBA career for the Lakers. He’s since coached in the NBA and WNBA while focusing on coaching children nowadays.
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