Hyde Park

Daughter in Mourning After Father Killed in Attempted Hyde Park Carjacking

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Keith Cooper would have turned 74 years old later this month, but on Wednesday he was killed in a brazen attempted carjacking in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood.

According to police, Cooper was confronted by two individuals at approximately 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, who demanded his car. During the incident, Cooper was punched in the head, and police say he went into cardiac arrest. He later died at a local hospital.

Cooper was a father, grandfather, and a proud Vietnam veteran, according to his daughter Keinika Carlton, and now she’s left to mourn his loss in a senseless act of violence.

“If you want the car, let him get out and take the car. We can get another car. I can’t get another dad,” she said.

An eyewitness to the attack is left shaken by what she saw.

“I saw two guys walk up behind him and snatch his keys from his hand,” she said. “He had tried to get his key back, and they punched him. He was yelling ‘help! Help! Help!’ And it was in the broad freaking daylight. Broad daylight and you do this.”

 Carjackings are happening with increasing regularity in the city. According to the latest statistics available from the city, there had been 748 carjackings reported to police as of June 28, up from 464 through the same period of time in 2020.

 Two men are currently being held as persons of interest in the case, according to police.

Now, Carlton is left to mourn her father’s loss, and to begin planning a funeral for a man killed in a horrifying act of violence.

 “He is definitely my hero. He’s always been an amazing support for me and my kids,” she said. “I never thought this would be the end to his story.”

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