A Thanksgiving gathering in Spokane Valley turned fatal in the early morning hours of November 26, 2021, when 29-year-old Destin Cooper was shot and killed at a South Evergreen Road home. Friends had been using alcohol and drugs, including cocaine and acid, and several people were in the basement when witnesses say 30-year-old Zachary R. McGlocklin left the room, returned with a black semi-automatic Glock, and began firing. Witnesses reported hearing six to ten shots and saw Cooper fall onto a coffee table with an apparent neck injury.

Deputies arrived around 4:30 a.m. and found Cooper dead on the basement floor with head and neck injuries. Investigators recovered a 9mm semi-automatic Glock with an empty magazine, six spent casings, and live cartridges in the basement. McGlocklin was detained at the residence and initially claimed Cooper had produced a firearm, though he later said he never saw one in Cooper’s hands.

McGlocklin was arrested and charged; he later pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and three counts of second-degree assault and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Friends and family remember Cooper as caring and funny with a big heart. Does anyone who attended or lived nearby that night have information that could add clarity to what happened?