Five teenagers have been charged with murder in connection with the shooting of Kevin Cooper, an Oregon minister who was gunned down inside his own home on Nov. 1, 2025, and who succumbed to his injuries six weeks later on Dec. 12. Police found Cooper with multiple gunshot wounds after the teens allegedly broke into his residence in Portland.

All five suspects are now in custody. All have pleaded not guilty.

Zyaire E. Carter and Ty'Davion C. Burton face first-degree murder charges. Jayden J. Sarinana, Jordan C. Perkins, and one unidentified juvenile each face second-degree murder charges, the Daily Caller reported. Additional charges, including first-degree burglary, may follow, police said.

A Man Killed in His Own Home

Cooper was a minister. He was shot inside the place where he should have been safest. According to his brother, the suspects identified themselves as police officers before breaking into the residence. Cooper's 4-year-old grandson was in the home at the time. His brother told reporters the shooting was random.

That is the part that should stop every reader cold. A man of faith, in his own house, with his grandchild nearby, was killed by strangers who allegedly impersonated law enforcement to gain entry. There was no dispute. No grudge. No connection. Just violence visited upon a family with no warning and no reason.

PPD Chief Bob Day called Cooper's death what it plainly is: "The death of Kevin Cooper is a tragedy in every way."

The Investigation and Arrests

The path to charging all five suspects stretched across months and required coordination between multiple law enforcement units. The timeline tells the story of how the case came together.

• Nov. 1, 2025: Cooper was shot inside his home. Officers found him with multiple gunshot wounds.
• Nov. 7: Police arrested Carter and Burton for multiple crimes, including attempted murder, which predated the shooting that killed Cooper.
• Dec. 12: Cooper died from his injuries.
• Jan. 6: PPD's Special Emergency Reaction Team and Crisis Negotiation Team served three search warrants and arrested Sarinana and the unidentified juvenile for crimes predating the alleged murder.
• Feb. 5, 2026: The Enhanced Community Safety Team collaborated with the U.S. Marshals Service to take Perkins into custody.

A detail worth noting: Carter and Burton were arrested within a week of the shooting, not for Cooper's murder, but for other crimes, including attempted murder. Sarinana and the juvenile were likewise initially arrested for offenses predating Cooper's death. These were not first-time offenders stumbling into tragedy. These were teenagers already involved in serious violent crime before a minister bled out on his own floor.

All five remain in the Multnomah County Detention Center. The unidentified juvenile is held at the juvenile detention center.

Portland's Ongoing Reckoning

Chief Day acknowledged the broader stakes in his statement, thanking the detectives, criminalists, and partner agencies who brought the case to this point:

"This work is a significant step in our ongoing efforts to reduce crime and the fear of crime in Portland. I also appreciate our partners at the Multnomah County District Attorney's office and the U.S. Marshal's Service for their crucial roles in this case."

That phrase, "reduce crime and the fear of crime," tells you everything about where Portland stands. A city's police chief does not talk about reducing the fear of crime unless the fear has become a defining feature of daily life. Portland has spent years reaping the consequences of policies that treated law enforcement as the problem and criminals as misunderstood. When you defund, demoralize, and hamstring your police, the vacuum does not fill with social workers and community dialogue. It is filled with teenagers allegedly impersonating cops to force their way into a minister's home.

The officers and investigators who built this case deserve the credit Day gave them. The PPD Homicide Unit, the Major Crimes Unit, SERT, CNT, the Enhanced Community Safety Team, and the U.S. Marshals Service all played roles in identifying and apprehending the suspects. That is serious, multi-agency police work. It is the kind of work that becomes possible when officers are allowed to do their jobs.

What Justice Looks Like

The teens could face additional charges, police said. The Multnomah County District Attorney's office is involved. Whether Portland's justice system treats this case with the gravity it demands remains an open question. Oregon's track record on holding violent offenders accountable, particularly young ones, has not inspired confidence in recent years.

Kevin Cooper shielded his family from armed intruders in his own home. He did what any father and grandfather would do. He paid for it with his life.

Nothing that happens in a courtroom can undo that. But the people of Portland deserve to know that when five teenagers allegedly execute a man in front of his grandchild, the system responds with something heavier than a plea deal and a short memory.