DISCLAIMER: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)— As Joe Cooper, a man who was shot during an attempted Gentilly home invasion back in May continues to fight for his life in the hospital, the New Orleans Police Department has connected a man who barricaded himself in a Slidell home last week to the case.
On Monday, the NOPD announced the arrest of 28-year-old Tyrin Wiltz in connection to the investigation. Wiltz has been charged with attempted second-degree murder and attempted home invasion, accused of shooting Cooper at his Gentilly home.
Just before 4 p.m. on May 23, officers with NOPD’s Third District were called to the 4400 block of St. Roch Avenue. It was there that officers say Cooper, the husband of WWOZ DJ Leslie Cooper, was shot in his doorway while trying to protect his wife.
Neighbors told WGNO a man knocked on the couple’s door asking about a package. When the suspect was told there was no package, he left and came back about 20 minutes later. That’s when the suspect confronted Cooper and shot at him several times.
Cooper was struck once in his abdomen, according to the NOPD. He was admitted to University Medical Center where he stayed until July, starting therapy after his release. However, Cooper was readmitted earlier this month after suffering from a stroke.
Up until the announcement of Wiltz’s arrest, a suspect had not been publicly identified by the NOPD. However, Wiltz was identified as a second-degree murder suspect who barricaded himself in a Slidell apartment complex last week — also wanted for narcotics charges and a probation warrant.
After more than two hours of barricading himself in a home with his girlfriend and two young children, Slidell police were able to convince Wiltz to exit the home. He was taken into custody peacefully soon after with no one injured.
More details of Wiltz’s arrest are expected to be released in an NOPD press conference Monday morning. You can watch the press conference in the player above.
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