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Boy, 8, shot in Highland Park parade shooting returns home to family

Cooper Roberts was left partially paralyzed after being shot in the back in a deadly shooting at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park that left seven dead.
Image: At Least 6 Dead After Shooting At Fourth Of July Parade In Chicago Suburb
FBI agents work at the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 5, 2022 in Highland Park, Ill.Jim Vondruska / Getty Images
/ Source: The Associated Press

CHICAGO — Eight-year-old Cooper Roberts is back home after more than two months of treatment for injuries from a shooting at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, his family said Thursday.

The attack this past summer killed seven and wounded dozens, including Cooper’s mother, Keely Roberts, and his twin brother, Luke, who have since recovered.

Cooper was shot in the back, and the bullet ripped through his body, severely damaging his aorta, liver, esophagus and spinal cord before exiting through his chest. He was taken first to Highland Park Hospital where he underwent a life-saving surgery, then spent in-patient stays at Comer Children’s Hospital and Shirley Ryan Ability Lab in Chicago.

“We are at a total loss of words to express how filled with gratitude, love and wholeness we now feel given that we are able to finally have Cooper back at home,” the family said in a statement. “He is able to live once again with his twin brother, Luke, and resume being one another’s very best playmates.”

Cooper Roberts.
Cooper Roberts.Courtesy Roberts family

Cooper, the youngest of six children who adores his French bulldog puppy, George, is partially paralyzed and unable to play sports or on most playgrounds, as he once loved to do.

“For all the love that he has come back to, there are so many painful reminders of what he has lost,” his parents said, adding that “there is no word” to describe Cooper’s pain when he sees his bike he can no longer ride or his old soccer jersey.

The family’s home is no longer fully accessible for Cooper, who uses a wheelchair. The family is figuring out how they will renovate or build a new home.

“This ‘new normal’ we are just starting during this transition home is hard; really, really hard,” his parents said. But they know “he will show the entire world that love really does win in the end.”