On March 26, 2023, 15-year-old Denim Dior John’Trel Cooper was shot and killed around 1:45 a.m. near 29th Street in the 2900 block of Avenue M 1/2 in Galveston, Texas. Officers found Denim, a Texas City ISD student and a football player who hoped to play professionally, deceased from a gunshot wound to the head. The suspect reportedly fled in a four-door sedan.

Investigators later arrested 19-year-old Darius Jeriod Geters in Texas City; he was taken into custody on April 13, 2023 and charged with Denim’s murder, held on $500,000 bond. A grand jury indicted Geters on June 8, 2023. Denim’s mother, Shana Thomas, said she did not know why he was at that location that early and publicly forgave the unknown assailant, urging surrender. Texas City ISD made counselors available as the community mourned.

If anyone has information about Denim’s killing or saw activity near Avenue M 1/2 on March 26, 2023, please come forward.