By Antonio
Planas
They fear that an 8-year-old boy who was shot in the chest by the attacker who killed seven people and injured dozens at a July 4 parade in Highland Park, Illinois, may never walk again, the report said. Thursday a spokesman for the family.
Cooper Roberts was at the holiday party Monday with his twin brother, Luke, and their parents when the shooting occurred in the Chicago suburb, family friend Anthony Loizzi said at a news conference.
"Cooper was shot in the chest and
sustained significant injuries, including a severed spinal cord
," Loizzi said.
The minor, a baseball fan and fan of the Milwaukee Brewers, was in a "critical but stable" condition on Thursday on an artificial respirator at Comer Children's Hospital in Chicago.
Cooper Roberts.Roberts Family via NBC News
Cooper's mother, Keely Roberts, was also shot, and her twin brother Luke sustained injuries from bullet fragments, the spokesman added.
Keely Roberts, superintendent of Zion School District 6, was shot in the leg and foot.
She has undergone two operations and was released Wednesday so she can be with Cooper.
Her other son Luke was also released from the hospital.
Family friend Anthony Loizzi added that Cooper, who underwent surgery Wednesday to close his womb
, may not walk again "but he is showing strength,"
a trait his mother says they share.
[Would the new gun control law have prevented the Highland Park shooting? This is what the experts say]
"She's just a fighter, and it seems like Cooper has that part of her in him, because she's fighting as hard as she can," Loizzi said.
A few hours before the Highland Park attack, the killer spoke to his father about a recent shooting.
July 7, 202202:18
Donations are pouring into a GoFundMe campaign set up to help cover the family's medical expenses and Cooper's ongoing treatment.
Loizzi said
the Roberts family is "devastated"
but continues to find strength in each other.
Cooper is one of six children of his.
"Right now they're putting all their energy into Cooper," he said.
A 21-year-old man from Illinois has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder in the massacre.
Records show he purchased four weapons in 2020, including the AR-15-style weapon used in Monday's attack, authorities said.