Family and friends of Joe Cooper holds blood drive to help recovery efforts

Anthony Filippone isn’t family, but he’s as close as it gets to Joe Cooper.

“He’s my best friend, business partner and soon to be in law. We work all day together. And then we party all night,” said Anthony Filippone, friend.

That party is usually at the Maple Leaf Bar, which is where Saturday, Filippone and other loved ones rallied in support of Cooper’s recovery.

Joe Cooper was shot Monday afternoon at his Gentilly Terrace home, after police say neighbors saw a man knock on his door asking about a package. They said when Cooper told him there wasn’t one, he shot him.

“The circumstances obviously of this are just so messed up,” said Ben Russell, family friend.

Since Monday, just under $100,000 have been raised to help the family.

Enough blood has been donated to not only help Cooper but to also send to Uvalde, Texas.

“He’s always just bee a supportive guy of the musicians and he just gives so much to the community that we owe it to him to return that tenfold today,” said Russell.

“It’s all about love, ya know,” said Brint Anderson, friend.

Cooper’s style is as vibrant as his personality.

“He’s a master of tie-dye. That’s why there’s all this beautiful clothing here,” said Anderson.

To spread joy and a reminder of Cooper’s fight.

“It’s really obvious by the outpouring of support how good of a guy he really is. There’s not enough time to go over a hundredth of who the man is. But when you see thousands of people coming out and continuously calling, continuously supporting. He’s who i want to be when i grow up,” said Filippone.