Katie Cooper was “the kind of girl that brought sunshine on an overcast day,” said a family friend.
As news spread of the Chino Hills native’s death during Friday night’s rampage near UC Santa Barbara, it brought grief and anger to the tight-knit community.
“It’s so sad and tragic,” said family friend Kevin Widner, 54, who had known Cooper since she was a little girl. “We’re praying for the family.”
Cooper was just weeks away from graduating with a degree in art history. She was in the Delta Delta Delta sorority at UC Santa Barbara, where she enrolled after graduating from Ruben S. Ayala High School in Chino Hills in 2010.
Relatives and neighbors gathered inside the Cooper home Sunday afternoon, looking at pictures of Katie and sharing stories, said neighbor Sandra Betancourt, who consoled the grieving family.
A sign on the front door said the family was not fielding inquiries from the media.
Cooper was beloved by the entire neighborhood. “We’re devastated,” Betancourt said.
“Mom is very angry, furious,” that her daughter’s legacy was going to be linked to the mass shooting, Betancourt said.
The Coopers moved into the area about 17 years ago and Katie grew up alongside the other kids on the street, a tidy cul-de-sac a few miles from Ayala High School and St. Paul the Apostle Church, which the Cooper family attends.
Betancourt said she remembers Cooper walking her dogs and playing with neighbor kids.
Cooper grew into a tall woman, an athlete and dancer, but she never abandoned her high heels, said Betancourt, who would tell Cooper, “‘You’re going to fall over!’”
Recalling Katie’s personality, Betancourt said she was a gorgeous person who never looked down on others. “So pretty but not conceited,” she said.
Cooper’s friend and onetime prom date Brandon Andre spoke to KABC-7 outside Ayala High School on Saturday night.
“A lot of us remember her as someone that was very caring, very kind,” Andre said. “She was very strong in her personality … Everywhere she went, she left an impression. People just loved her, and we’re just all really shocked … It’s really horrible, the situation and the tragedy that she experienced, and I think we all just wish the family the best of the situation that they’re in right now.
CAMPUS IN MOURNING
Cooper and several others were standing outside the Alpha Phi sorority house about 9:30 p.m. Friday when 22-year-old Elliot Rodger approached and began pounding on the front door, apparently intending to slaughter the people inside.
When no one answered, Rodger walked over to the group outside and opened fire, killing Cooper and 19-year-old Veronika Weiss and injuring a third girl. All were members of the Delta Delta Delta sorority.
At the site of the shooting, a memorial grew over the weekend as mourners dropped off flowers.
Friends and fellow UC Santa Barbara students remembered Cooper during a candlelight vigil Saturday evening, the campus newspaper Daily Nexus reported online Sunday.
Third-year biology major Letitia Mueller reflected on Cooper’s death and the time they spent together as teaching assistants for a ballroom dance class they took in the fall, according to the Nexus.
“I wish I got to know you better. We did the ballroom TA last year, fall quarter and when I talked to you last night on the phone, I wish I would’ve said something, something that you would remember,” Mueller said. “I wish I would’ve said I love you, I wish I would have said goodbye, I wish I would’ve told her that her dancing was beautiful. I won’t forget you Katie. Please continue to dance.”
Mueller was among an estimated 4,000 people who participated in the vigil, which included a silent march across campus that ended at Anisq’oyo Park, where some marchers spoke about victims of the rampage.
Two of Cooper’s friends also took the stage to lament her death and share memories, the Nexus reported.
“She was my best friend and like a sister to me. And though I miss her dearly, she’s always going to be in our hearts, and a piece of me will be missing for the rest my life. I will never forget her,” one said. “She was so kind-hearted, gentle, sweet — just the most completely selfless, completely compassionate person I have ever met. If you needed something, she was always there. No matter what, she would always be there by your side.”
PRAYING FOR THE FAMILY
Widner, the family friend, was at church Sunday morning. When it came time for the priest to read the names of those to pray for, his heart dropped when he heard Cooper’s name, he said.
Widner’s daughter Kimberly is the same age as Katie. He watched the two girls grow up, attending Rolling Ridge Elementary School, Canyon Hills Junior High and Ruben S. Ayala High School.
Both girls went their separate ways for college — Kimberly attending Cal State Long Beach while Katie went to UC Santa Barbara — but they maintained a friendship.
Every year, Cooper and her parents would volunteer at St. Paul’s bingo night that Widner helped organize.
“Katie has always had a very bubbly personality,” Widner said. “She’s the kind of the girl that brought sunshine on an overcast day.”
For the past couple of days, since the news broke out about the mass shooting, St. Paul priests have asked their parishioners to pray for the Cooper family and the other victims.
“Here was this young, beautiful woman, 22, a good student, at the height of her youth, just taken away,” the Rev. Mike Gilsenan said.
“It’s devastating,” he said. “The mother is very distraught. We are praying for them at all the Masses.”
Gilsenan said services for Cooper will be at St. Paul’s this week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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