Cooper Hoskyns Arizona man killed in murder suicide by roommate Sean Bertz. Victim had planned to marry long time girlfriend.
An Arizona man has died after being shot dead by his roommate who then turned the murder weapon upon himself in an apparent murder-suicide, police said.
Cooper Hoskyns, 32, was fatally shot by 34-year-old Sean Bertz as the roommate attempted to enter the shared residence from the backyard early Sunday in Phoenix, AZfamily reported.
Bertz upon shooting Hoskyns, then turned the gun on himself, police said.
According to family members, Bertz had gone missing in recent weeks and surprised Hoskyns who he shared the home with along with his victim’s fiancee.
Police received a 911 call around 4:47 a.m. about a fight between two men at the residence in the Laveen neighborhood.
Questions unanswered
Officers arrived to find Hoskyns dead and Bertz suffering from a gunshot wound, police said.
Bertz was transported to a local hospital, where he mortally succumbed to his injuries, cops said.
Hoskyns’ family said he and his fiancée had been trying to get Bertz help but had not heard from him in weeks.
The victim’s uncle, Will Hoskyns, said when Bertz tried to get inside their home in the middle of the night, the couple were caught off guard, with Will not owning a gun.
The uncle told the Arizona Republic that his nephew was at ‘such happy time in his life’ and planned to get married next summer to his partner of many years.
‘I think that is the real tragedy in all this,’ the uncle reiterated. ‘Some people just carry a light, and he was very loved.’
It remained unclear how Bertz came to shoot his roommate and what led to him taking the man’s life and why for that matter Bertz had sought to enter the shared residence from the backyard in the early morning hours.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and ask anyone with information to contact the department.
