8-year-old boy shot, paralyzed in Highland Park shooting returns home after months of treatment

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. — Eight-year-old Cooper Roberts is back home with his family after months of treatment for injuries from a Fourth of July parade shooting at Highland Park.

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According to The Associated Press, Cooper was shot in the back and a bullet went through his body in the July Fourth shooting at Highland Park which is a suburb of Chicago. Cooper’s aorta, liver, esophagus and spinal cord were severely damaged in the shooting. He had a life-saving surgery and then spent months at Comer Children’s Hospital and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago following the first procedure.

Cooper had multiple additional surgeries, had been fully intubated, on a ventilator at times and has to undergo rehabilitation, according to WLS-TV.

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In a statement from Cooper’s family obtained by the AP, they have welcomed him home with his twin brother, Luke. He is the youngest of six children and is partially paralyzed.

“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 obtained by the AP.

Cooper’s mother and twin brother were also injured but have recovered, according to the AP.

According to the AP, the family’s house is no longer fully accessible for Cooper who is using a wheelchair. The family is working on renovating or building a new house to accommodate him.


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