Roy Cooper, nicknamed the “Super Looper” during his legendary rodeo career, died this week at the age of 69.

Cooper, considered the greatest roper of all time, died in a house fire on his property in Decatur, Texas, Tuesday.

“It is with great sadness that our family shares the passing of our Dad, The Super Looper, Roy Cooper,” Cooper’s son, Tuf, wrote in a Facebook post. “We’re all in shock and at a loss for words from this tragedy at the moment.”

Cooper launched his career in 1976, when he won a world championship in his first national finals. He won eight titles overall and was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979, just three years into his career.

Tuf is a third-generation rodeo star. Cooper’s parents were also ropers. Cooper’s mother was born on a ranch, and the family lived in New Mexico when he was growing up.

The rodeo world mourned Cooper’s death.

Roy Cooper joined the ProRodeo Hall of Fame just three years into his career. (Texas Department of Agriculture)

“Heartbroken to hear of the passing of Roy Cooper. … He inspired generations of cowboys, and his legacy lives on,” Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame inductee Andra Estes Beatty said in a statement, via The Express Tribune.

“The rodeo community mourns a tremendous loss today with the passing of rodeo legend and Super Looper, Roy Cooper,” the Texas Department of Agriculture added. “Commissioner Sid Miller and his wife, Debra, are lifting the Cooper family up in prayer as they navigate this heartbreaking time.”

“When anyone referenced the ‘Super Looper,’ every rodeo fan knew exactly who you were talking about,” Professional Bull Riding CEO Sean Gleason wrote.

The Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center during the Reno Rodeo June 25, 2024, in Reno, Nev.  (Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Cooper became the first roper to earn $2 million in ProRodeo in 2000.

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EXCLUSIVE – Bipartisan lawmakers are introducing a bill on Capitol Hill Thursday focused on protecting the country’s water systems from foreign hackers, just months after China admitted behind closed doors that it was responsible for a series of attacks on U.S. infrastructure.

Senators Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., authored the Water Cybersecurity Enhancement Act to help protect public water systems and respond to cyberattacks, which have become more frequent in recent years.

“In Arizona, we know better than most the importance of safe and secure access to water. But adversaries also understand the importance and are increasingly trying to undermine our water security,” Gallego said. “It is critical that we ensure our public water systems have the resources they need to prevent and respond to cyberattacks. That’s exactly what this bipartisan, commonsense bill does.”

The bill would extend and expand a portion of the Safe Drinking Water Act, called the Drinking Water Infrastructure Risk and Resilience Program, to provide technical assistance and grants to community water systems that can be used for training and guidance on cyberattack protections and responses.

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Cotton said cyberattacks on public infrastructure are a growing threat.

“This bipartisan bill will strengthen our ability to protect essential services and support local water utilities in building stronger cyber defenses,” he added.

The bill comes less than a month after the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese officials acknowledged behind closed doors in December that their government was responsible for a series of attacks on U.S. infrastructure.

CHINA ATTACKED US WITH HACKERS. WE NEED TO HIT BACK HARD

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., introduced a bill with Arizona Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego to expand protections of public water systems from cyberattacks. (Getty Images)

In the exclusive report, those who spoke on condition of anonymity claimed Chinese officials connected the cyberattacks on U.S. ports, airports, utilities and other important targets to America’s support for Taiwan.

The report noted that Biden administration officials learned of the attacks first hand during a summit in Geneva, as their Chinese counterparts blamed the campaign, referred to as Volt Typhoon, on a criminal organization.

Chinese officials also accused the U.S. of blaming China based on their imagination.

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Chinese officials connected the cyberattacks on U.S. ports, airports, utilities and other important targets to America’s support for Taiwan, according to the Wall Street Journal. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital earlier this month it had made clear to Beijing that the U.S. will continue to take actions in response to Chinese malicious cyber activity targeting the U.S.

“Chinese cyber threats are some of the gravest and most persistent threats to U.S. national security,” the spokesperson said. “The United States will continue to use all the tools at its disposal to safeguard U.S. critical infrastructure from irresponsible and reckless cyberattacks from Beijing. President Trump is committed to protecting the American people and U.S. critical infrastructure from these threats.”

The Chinese Embassy told FOX Business that China “firmly opposes” the smear attacks against it without any factual basis.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION WARNS STATES OF POSSIBLE ATTACKS ON WATER SYSTEMS FROM FOREIGN HACKERS

The water system in Muleshoe, Texas, was attacked by Russian hackers in January 2024, sending tens of thousands of gallons flowing out of a water tower. (Google Maps)

The Biden administration warned state leaders in March 2024 that cyberattacks by hackers linked to Iran and China could take down water systems across the U.S. if cybersecurity measures were not taken as a precaution.

Then Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael S. Regan and Jake Sullivan, the assistant to Biden for national security affairs, said in an email to state governors that cyberattacks were targeting water and wastewater systems throughout the U.S.

In the letter, the two Biden administration officials said the attacks could disrupt clean and safe drinking water and impose significant costs on affected communities.

In January 2024, Russian hackers launched an attack on the water system in Muleshoe, Texas.

The hack caused the small Texas town’s water sytem to overflow and within two hours sent tens of thousands of gallons of water flowing out of the town’s water tower. Muleshoe was one of three small towns in the rural Texas Panhandle targeted by a Russian hacktivist group.

Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told legislators in a letter that the cybersecurity firm Mandiant attributed the attack on Muleshoe to Sandworm, which is believed to be connected to Russia’s spy agency, the GRU.

DALLAS – A father’s decade-long fight for accountability has finally led to justice for his 13-year-old daughter, who was killed by an illegal migrant in a 2014 Texas car crash. 

Chris Odette, a veteran and single father who now lives in New Hampshire, had just lost his wife to breast cancer 15 months earlier. He never imagined that the day he dropped his only daughter off at a sleepover would be the last time he would hug her. 

“My wife died 15 months before my daughter was killed,” Odette said. “And then to have my daughter killed, I lost my entire family in the span of 15 months to a disease that couldn’t be prevented. And then, to a crime that was 100% preventable. I made a promise to my wife before she died that I would take care of my daughter, and I feel like I failed that promise.” 

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Odette recalls being hesitant to let his then 13-year-old daughter, Chrishia, attend a sleepover at a friend’s house. However, they had just moved to Rockwall, Texas, and she was excited about meeting friends at a new school. 

“I just kept hearing in my head, my late wife saying, ‘Don’t be so protective, let her enjoy life, let her experience life,’” Odette recalled. “So, I took her over. It was about 9 p.m. when I dropped her off.”

Minutes after he arrived home, Odette received a call: Chrishia had been hit by a car while crossing a street. According to police, she was crossing outside a legal crosswalk when the crash happened. 

The driver, Ramiro Guevara, was an illegal migrant from Mexico. He was arrested by the Rockwall Police Department for driving without a license and for not having an operator’s license. Records show he spent roughly 35 minutes behind bars before he posted a cash bond.

According to ICE, Guevara was encountered by Border Patrol twice, with a voluntary return both times to Mexico in 1994 and 2004. At the time of the crash, there was also a 2010 warrant out for him from the Texas’ Mesquite Police Department for violation of driving without a license and for speeding. 

TRUCKING VET LAWMAKER SOUNDS OFF ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT DRIVERS AS REAL ID DEADLINE LOOMS

Despite this, Guevara was released back into the community following the deadly crash in 2014. A grand jury ultimately “no-billed” the case, meaning the jury decided there wasn’t enough evidence to support criminal charges.

“They said that because he had no drugs or alcohol in his system, there was no proof of negligence in his ability to operate the vehicle,” Odette said. “So, they wouldn’t charge him with any felonies. So, he was basically cleared of any wrongdoing for killing my daughter.” 

Chrishia Odette was hit by a car driven by illegal immigrant Ramiro Guevara in 2014. A jury decided there wasn’t enough evidence to support criminal charges against Guevara. (Chris Odette)

Guevara’s immigration case spanned years. According to ICE, Guevara filed a petition on March 10, 2016, for relief from removal. His petition was denied on July 28, 2017, by an immigration judge, and he was ordered removed on Aug. 23, 2017.

“This guy is watching his children grow up while my daughter is dead,” Odette said. “She would be 24 right now. She would have graduated college. She would start high school at 13. She was exceptionally intelligent, exceptionally talented. She was an amazing light. When my wife died, she’s the one that told me I needed to stop crying. She was the one that helped pull me back together instead of me being that rock for her.”

Odette has tirelessly sought justice, reaching out to elected officials and advocates. For years, he said, he was denied repeatedly. 

“If the laws were actually enforced the way they’re supposed to be, instead of trying to find an easy way to make life more comfortable for people who come across the border illegally, my daughter would be alive and thousands of others will be alive,” Odette said. 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Ramiro Guevara, a 46-year-old Mexican national and illegal immigrant, on March 26, 2025, after being ordered removed on Aug. 23, 2017. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

Few people took interest in his case, but former U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, told Odette he was touched by his story. In 2019, he spoke about Chrishia’s story on the House floor, highlighting the importance of securing the border. 

Odette also reached out to Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who recently put him in touch with border czar Tom Homan. 

On March 26, after years of fighting for justice, ICE arrested Guevara, who is now in ICE custody pending removal proceedings. 

“I had told her when she was alive that if someone hurt her, there was no distance that I wouldn’t go to protect her,” Odette said. “And I hope I see her again one day and I can look at her with an open heart and tell her dad did everything he could.”