2 Nice Victims Had Roots In North TX

By Stephanie Kuo, KERA News for Audio Texas

DALLAS – Two of the 84 people killed last Thursday (14 July) in Nice, France, have roots in North Texas. Sean and his son, Brodie Copeland moved from Prosper to Austin in 2014.

Sean Copeland and his 11-year-old son, Brodie, were on a European vacation with their family. It started with the running of the bulls in Pamplona then flamenco dancing in Barcelona. They had been celebrating Bastille Day, watching fireworks, at the beach in Nice, France, when a truck drove into the crowd.

The Copeland family lived in Prosper, a town just north of Frisco, before moving to Lakeway, near Austin in 2014. Brodie was a student at Folsom Elementary in Prosper ISD before the family moved. Sean graduated from the University of North Texas in 1984.

Family friend and spokesperson, Jess Davis, said Brodie was an “amazing son and brother who lit up our lives.” Sean, she called, “a wonderful husband and father.”

Friends say baseball was a huge part of the family’s life. Brodie played for the Hill Country Reds as a pitcher and second baseman. Aaron Cable, with the baseball club, worked with Brodie almost every week for the past two years.

He said in a statement that Brodie was a one-of-a-kind kid, “popular, funny, mature and fun to be around.” Off the field, Brodie loved acting and wanted to be a comedian one day.

Wife Kim is still in France, along with Sean’s two older children, Austin and Maegan,.

A candlelight vigil for the family will be held Sunday night at Frontier Park in Prosper. A GoFundMe campaign has already raised nearly $30,000.