… A parents’ worse nightmare ….. the phonecall, your kid has been shot in an armed robbery !!
…… The parents are Caldwell and Susan Cooper, and they are the owner/ operators of
….. Cooper Properties, the largest rental property company ( and biggest residential tax payer) in Fort Lauderdale …
… They got the call last night about 8pm – “Dad, I just got robbed and they shot me” , a sentence that make the biggest brute weak at the knees….. “But I’m OK”, 15 year old- tenth grader Joseph Cooper added…..
….. Joseph, on Thanksgiving break from Cardinal Gibbons, was hanging out in Rio Vista with his buddies Nick and Michael …. They were walking the dog down to the Ponce De Leon park when a “old Chevy Trailblazer” pulled up next to them …. “They had on hoodies and bandanas with a red skull cap, and at first we thought they were some friends just screwing around”, said Joseph …. They said “give us your stuff, and just seconds later he shot me!” ….
….Having been trained with guns from a younger age, Joseph knew the gun was a pellet gun the driver had shot him with, but he saw a long gun in the lap of the passenger …”I was gushing blood” , Joseph said …. They took off and the three friends ran for home ….. They called home …”Mom was flippin out”, Joseph said ….
…. The parents were there in minutes and rushed Joseph to Broward General to take out the pellets and stitch up the wound ….. Joseph, a typical 15 year old, took a “snapchat” of the wound and sent it to friends …. “It hurt more this morning than yesterday”, he quipped ….
… The robbers, one white, one black, were from Plantation, ( a 17 year old and an 18 year old) and had attempted other robberies in Rio Vista that night and were caught later that night by FLPD ….
…. Joseph says the robbers are being charged with armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, the 18 year old as an adult …. “the world is flat out crazy”, Joseph finished …..
……………… no kidding, I thought !
Thank God, Joseph will be okay. My thoughts go out to Caldwell, Susan and the Cooper family. Let this be the worse call they ever receive ever!
I heard about this terrifying incident shortly after it happened, but I have to ask a question. Is this photograph of the supposed assailant a prepared and posed likeness? If so, is that responsible journalism?
Just call me an irresponsible journalist 🙂 Tim
The Coopers are known as responsible landlords who support anti-crime n fighting drug sales in South Middle River on NW 13 th n adjacent blocks. They dont deserve this! No parent or kid deserves this but I’d love to know where the parents of the banditos were! or what they thought their sons were doing! So much for moving the Ft Lauderdale Coin & Stamp Show Ft Lauderdale Jewish Community Center largest Jewish Ft Lauderdale Temple n meetings of the Ft Lauderdale Coin Club to Plantation because “the people are more upscale” as I keep getting told!
I am glad the boy is OK and what a great job by our FLPD!