A.J. Cooper, a Ward 4 candidate for D.C. Council, died suddenly Wednesday morning. He was 34. Cooper had been running for the Council seat being vacated by Mayor-Elect Muriel Bowser.
Peggy Cooper Cafritz, A.J.’s aunt, confirmed Cooper’s death to News4. She said he was at his mother’s home when he died sometime before 9 a.m. Cooper Cafritz said his mother attempted to perform CPR.
“He was a hell of a kid who was just coming into his own,” Cooper Cafritz told News4’s Mark Segraves.
Cooper was engaged to be married. He had attended a Ferguson protest Monday outside the U.S. Department of Justice.
“We need to turn all of this energy, all of this passion, all of this pain, into power, into something positive, into real change that will improve outcomes in people’s lives,” he said.
Cooper also told News4 on Monday that he was looking forward to running in the special election.
