Friends who knew Katherine Cooper, the UC Santa Barbara student who was shot and killed in the Isla Vista rampage, say her smile “lit up the room.” They remembered her as a smart and popular girl who was active in school clubs and on the track team. Reggie Kumar reports from Chino Hills for the NBC4 News at 6 on…
Friends of a UC Santa Barbara student who was killed in the Isla Vista shooting rampage say she had a smile that "lit up the room."
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Friends outside Katherine Breann Cooper’s childhood home in Chino Hills on Sunday remembered the 22-year-old senior as a popular and smart girl.
"She walked in the room with just the biggest smile on her face," said Jacob Morales, who grew up with Cooper in the same neighborhood.
Morales, who also attended Ayala High School with Cooper, said she was on the track team and active in school clubs.
Cooper’s family attended St. Paul the Apostle Catholic church in Chino Hills, said Father Mike Gilsenan. He said the tightknit community was deeply grieving over her death.
"How do you say goodbye to a 22-year-old? Just how? In the prime of her life," Gilsenan said.
Cooper was with her Delta Delta Delta sorority sister Veronika Weiss when gunman Eilliot Rodger opened fire, killing them both. Authorities say Rodger killed six people, including his roommates, in a long-planned violent spree before killing himself Friday.
