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One dead in Tuesday morning shooting

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — One man is dead and another is in jail after a fatal shooting in Bloomington early Tuesday morning.

Scott Cooper, 56, who police say is unhoused, is currently in the Monroe County Jail on a murder charge.

Scott Cooper, 56 (Monroe County Jail)

According to Bloomington Police, officers were called to a parking lot on Liberty Drive on the west side of Bloomington just after 6 a.m.

A woman reported seeing what she thought was a dead body in the parking lot while she was walking into work and asked another employee help her to see if the man was alive.

When police arrived, they found the man with a gunshot wound to his chest and had already died.

Bloomington Police began searching the area and located a van parked nearby with what they say appeared to be a bullet hole through its windshield.

Cooper was allegedly sleeping in the van and was told by police to exit the vehicle. He was taken to the Bloomington Police Department for questioning. His van, and the car police think the victim was in, were both towed from the scene to examine for evidence.

According to Bloomington Police, a loaded .380 caliber handgun was reportedly recovered from Cooper’s van, after which he was taken and booked into jail and charged with murder.

The victim has not yet been identified while the Monroe County Coroner’s Office plans to conduct an autopsy.