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Navy veteran among six who died in tornado at Edwardsville Amazon facility

Belleville News-Democrat - 12/14/2021

Dec. 14—READ MORE — At least 6 dead as storms sweep across region

Here's coverage of the aftermath storms that struck the metro-east in December 2021

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Updated: Here's where officials said tornadoes possibly touched down in Illinois, Missouri

Backgrounder: A short history of the Amazon warehouses in Madison County

Kentucky tornado compares to Tri-State Twister that devastated southern Illinois

Amazon warehouse collapses at Gateway Commerce Center in Edwardsville. Fatalities reported

Watch: Video, still photos show the scene of the Amazon building collapse in Edwardsville

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The Belleville News-Democrat is gathering information on each of those who died when a tornado caused parts of an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville to collapse. Information will be published as it becomes available.

Clayton Cope, 29, of Alton, was a decorated Navy veteran and the first of the six victims of a tornado in Edwardsville to be identified.

Cope's mother, Carla Cope, told the Daily Beast that she urged her son to seek shelter when the tornado warning was issued. But, she said, Clayton insisted instead that he needed to alert others at the Edwardsville Amazon distribution facility.

"He had a big heart and he was a very sweet man," Cope told the Daily Beast.

Clayton Cope had worked at Amazon for just over a year as a maintenance mechanic, his mother told CNN.

According to the article in the Daily Beast, Cope enlisted in the Navy in 2010 and served as an aviation electronics technician. Among the decorations he received was the Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal.

This story was originally published December 14, 20217:00 AM.

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