LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) — Lakeland detectives are asking for the public’s help in identifying two men who may be involved in a Christmas Eve shooting that killed a great-grandmother and left three other family members wounded.
Police said 70-year-old Maebelle Cooper, her daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter were shot in the front yard of their home on Amos Avenue. Cooper later died.
In December, Cooper’s daughter, Mrs. Lamone, told 8 On Your Side it all began when her teenage son went to pick up a cell phone that he bought online. She said he was robbed, a fight broke out, then trouble followed him back to his family’s home.
“As soon as we got ready to call the police, my kids, my mom, everyone is outside, they pulled up and began shooting. They shot me. They shot my husband. They shot my daughter. And unfortunately they killed my mom,” Lamone recalled. Lamone did not want to share her first name or show her face on camera.
“She was just a magnificent, beautiful soul that cared so much about her family, her friends. She just loved everyone,” Lamone said of her mother.
On Wednesday, police released photos on Facebook of two men running near a vehicle, and said they believed they were involved in the shooting.
Police are asking anyone who can help identify the men to call Detective Biko Duhaney at 863-255-8999 or send an email to biko.duhaney@lakelandgov.net.
