On January 18, 2023, 25-year-old Gilbert Isaiah Cotton was fatally shot inside an apartment near 17th and Packard Avenue in Racine, Wisconsin. The shooting happened about 7:40 p.m. after a domestic dispute in which Cotton’s fiancée tried to end the relationship and a physical confrontation followed.

A 26-year-old man identified as Jimmy J. Mumper, the father of the fiancée’s children, intervened. Mumper, who held a valid concealed carry permit, drew a firearm and during the struggle the gun discharged, fatally wounding Cotton. Mumper fled the scene but was captured shortly afterward and charged by the Racine County District Attorney’s Office with first-degree intentional homicide while using a dangerous weapon; his bond was set at $250,000. Mumper has said the shooting was accidental.

Cotton was remembered by family and friends as a Jack of all Trades who loved working on cars, both as a mechanic and detailer, and for his sense of humor and willingness to help others. Does anyone have information about Cotton’s life in Racine or witnessed what happened that night?