NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A New Orleans man is recovering after being shot during an attempted home invasion in the Gentilly Terrace neighborhood on Monday afternoon.
The man’s family has identified the victim as 60-year-old Joe Cooper, husband of WWOZ radio personality Leslie Cooper. Joe’s family says he was shot in his doorway while trying to protect his wife.
This all happened shortly before 4 p.m. Monday, May 23 in the 4400 block of St. Roch Ave. in Gentilly Terrace.
According to the neighbors, a man knocked on the Coopers’ door asking about a package. Neighbors say when the suspect was told there was no package, he left and then came back about 20 minutes later.
That’s when the suspect confronted Joe Cooper and shot at him multiple times. Police say Cooper was struck once in the abdomen and in both legs.
A neighbor recalls the moment the shooting happened.
“We heard about 8 huge shots go down and then all the neighbors came out,” said resident Sydney Beaumont. “Everybody who was in the area all came to the rescue and was taking to the police and just trying to do everything to, you know, get some answers and clues.”
The NOPD said on Tuesday detectives had planned on speaking with Cooper to get more details about what happened.
“We have two different stories,” NOPD Lt. Ernest Luther told WGNO’s Anna McAllister. “According to the victim, she didn’t actually witness the shooting, so we’re still looking into it. We have to interview the victim. He was currently in stable condition. We wanted to give him an opportunity to rest and collect his thoughts before we interview him.”
Police say right now, they’re looking for a white vehicle that fled the scene and say they believe there is only one suspect involved in the shooting — described as a man with a slim build and twists in his hair.
Anyone with any information on the shooting is urged to contact NOPD Third District detectives at (504) 658-6030.
Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crimestoppers by calling (504) 821-1111 or toll-free at (877) 903-7867. To submit a tip online, click here.
Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.