KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Friends, family, teammates, and classmates remembered Roosevelt Cooper Friday night during a vigil near 34th and Tristan in Kansas City where he was shot and killed on Thursday.
Cooper was a leader and a gifted athlete who was admired by teachers and coaches. He had just graduated from Hogan Preparatory Academy and was scheduled to leave for college Friday. He was going to be a freshman at Missouri State University.
His friend, Rahsaan Collins, is grieving, thinking about the last time he saw Cooper.
"A couple hours before he was here saying his goodbyes. We didn't know those were really goodbyes," said Collins.
Cooper's teacher Jess Weldon said he walked in her classroom Thursday, and it was a celebration.
"The kids just, they looked at him and they stood up and they ran over to the door and I could not control my classroom anymore. It was like a celebrity walked in. Oh, that's kind of how I think of him and to know that we're not going to have that anymore, it's hard," said Weldon.
Cooper led the basketball team to a third-place victory in the state tournament. He earned 24 points that game, which was the same number on his basketball jersey.
Pip Dukes, the assistant basketball coach, remembers it well.
“The last memories I have of him is our state third-place game where he had 24 points. I mean he pretty much led us to victory. For us to get the third-place game, so it was a great memory,” Dukes said.
Collins said his friend will not be forgotten.
"Everything I do is going to be for him. I know he would want me to do it. Even if I don't feel like doing anything, I just have to think about Roosevelt," said Collins.
