A man from Waterloo, Iowa, was sentenced to over thirteen years in federal prison for a murder attempt involving the discharge of multiple rounds of ammunition. Laindrell Myquail Cooper, aged 22, pleaded guilty on October 21, 2024, to possession of ammunition by a felon.
During sentencing, it was revealed that Cooper was involved with a gang in Waterloo. On November 18, 2022, an altercation at a downtown barbershop led to Cooper being called to the scene. Dressed in black and wearing a mask, he fired at least six shots at the victim across the street after briefly entering and exiting the barbershop. The incident caused another individual to fire his weapon as well; however, no injuries were reported despite damage to two storefronts and two cars.
Additional evidence indicated that Cooper had previously possessed a firearm linked through ballistics testing to another shooting incident in Waterloo on July 5, 2021.
United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams sentenced Cooper in Cedar Rapids. In delivering the sentence of 160 months' imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release without parole eligibility in the federal system, Chief Judge Williams described Cooper as “a clear and present danger to the public.”
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which aims to reduce violent crime and gun violence by fostering trust within communities and supporting preventive measures against violence. The Department's strategy launched on May 26, 2021.
Cooper remains in United States Marshal’s custody pending transport to federal prison. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist with investigation support from a Federal Task Force including the Waterloo Police Department, FBI, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms alongside Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department.