On November 9, 2023, 47-year-old Jimmy Lee Cool of Nebo, North Carolina, was found with a gunshot wound on Fairview Road in Marion and died despite medical attention. Deputies from the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office responded to a disturbance around noon and later identified 38-year-old Jeffery Allen Higgins as the shooter. Higgins was taken into custody and charged with murder; he is being held without bond. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is assisting the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office with the ongoing investigation.

Cool was born November 20, 1975, in Burke County and was known for hunting, fishing, and woodworking. He is survived by his family, who are being assisted by Westmoreland Funeral Home with arrangements. Does anyone in the area have information about what happened that day or knew Mr Cool personally?