On May 7, 1981, 27-year-old John W. Cooper was fatally shot at the Oregon Museum Tavern on Front Street NE in Salem, Oregon. Cooper, a partner in his family’s tool grinding business and a McNary High School graduate, was among crowded patrons during a ladies’ night when a 25-year-old man, Lawrence William Moore of Scio, entered and opened fire with a 9mm Browning. Cooper was one of three people killed at the scene; a fourth victim, Allen L. Wilcox, later died at a hospital.

Witnesses say Moore fired first at the bar and then at fleeing patrons. As he paused to reload, a patron struck him with a pool cue and others subdued and pinned him until police arrived. Moore was arrested at the scene, later charged with multiple counts of murder, pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect at his October 6, 1981 trial, and admitted being the gunman while offering a rambling motive about a syndicate of millionaires, Jews, and criminals. The jury found him guilty and he received four life terms.

Did anyone who knew John Cooper, his family, or regulars at the Oregon Museum Tavern that night have memories or details to share?