An 8-year-old boy who was present at the 4th of July parade in Highland Park (USA) with his parents and twin brother was shot and is now paralyzed from the waist down, family spokesman Anthony Loizzi told CNN on Thursday (7).
Cooper Roberts was shot in the chest and suffered several significant injuries, including a spinal cord injury, Loizzi said at a virtual press conference. He remains in hospital sedated and breathing with the help of machines, in a critical but stable condition, he added.
“It will be a new normal for him to move forward,” Loizzi said. “It looks like he’s going to have significant problems moving forward, especially with the walk.”
Cooper and his twin, Luke, loved the parade, the spokesperson said. The event ended in tragedy when a sniper began firing a semi-automatic rifle into the crowd. Seven people were killed and dozens more – including the Roberts – were injured.
Luke suffered shrapnel injuries, was treated, released and is now recovering at home, Loizzi said. Their mother, Keely Roberts, “was shot in the leg and foot” and underwent multiple surgeries, the spokesperson added. She has since been released because she insisted that she wanted to be by Cooper’s side in the hospital.
Cooper and Luke also have four older sisters, according to Loizzi. A GoFundMe campaign was created in support of the family.
A baseball fan and a wrestler
Cooper has always been very active, loves baseball — and sports in general — and is a fan of the Milwaukee Brewers, Loizzi said. The twin brothers are “best friends and partners,” Cooper’s older sister said in a statement.
“Cooper has never met a stranger a day in his life – everyone he meets is his instant best friend (second only to Luke),” the statement said. “He’s also incredibly athletic – he loves football, biking, baseball (about a week ago he went to his first Brewers game and couldn’t have loved it more) and football.”
“He is so studious and loves to read. Maybe that’s why he’s the funniest and most engaging storyteller you’ll ever meet. There is nothing this boy cannot do and there are no words for the amount of goodness inside him,” he added.
Cooper has had several surgeries since the shooting. But like his mother, Cooper is a fighter, Loizzi said.
“If you know Keely, she’s just a fighter and it looks like Cooper got that part of her because he’s been fighting as hard as he can,” the spokesperson said.
Keely Roberts is the superintendent of Zion Elementary School District 6, a school district in northeastern Illinois. In a statement, district officials said they hoped Cooper “will be fine, but we know his medical bills will be significant, as will the therapy that follows.”
“Please pray that Cooper makes the best possible recovery. Any help you can provide – thoughts, prayers or donations is greatly appreciated,” the district statement said.
Loizzi, who said she knows Roberts through work, described her as always committed to her students, working “24 hours a day” and sending emails in the wee hours of the morning, “caring about the students at her schools and how she can support and serve them.”
“She has been a school administrator for many, many years serving many districts and I am always amazed…(at) how she gives her all, works hard day and night to serve students and families in public schools,” Loizzi said. “And now she and her family need our support.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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