Mother of Cooper Roberts, boy paralyzed in Highland Park shooting, speaks out
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. - The mother of an 8-year-old boy who was paralyzed in the Highland Park Fourth of July parade shooting released a video statement Wednesday afternoon – sharing how their family is doing and how they are coping with the tragedy.
Cooper Roberts was shot in the back when gunfire erupted at the parade. The bullet exited his chest, according to the boy's mother Keely Roberts. Cooper has undergone multiple surgeries, battled several infections, and is now paralyzed from the waist down.
"They refused to give up on Cooper. They were not going to let that little boy die," Keely Roberts said of the doctors and nurses who cared for Cooper in the hospital.
More than three weeks after the mass shooting, Cooper is still in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. His family is hopeful that he will soon be transferred to Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, which is a rehabilitation hospital in Chicago.
However, the boy's mother says Cooper is "not out of the woods, not by a longshot."
"I continue to believe that Cooper is a miracle. I continue to believe that Cooper is going to change the world," said Keely Roberts. "I am amazed at the enormous number of people who don’t know us, who don’t even live in this state, and who are sharing such extraordinary acts of kindness to help him and our family."
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Keely was also shot during the parade. She sustained bullet wounds to two parts of her leg.
Cooper's twin brother, Luke, was hit by shrapnel during the shooting. Although he wasn't seriously hurt physically, his mother says he carries emotional damage.
"While we are grateful that our son Luke – Cooper’s twin – sustained only minor physical injuries after being hit by shrapnel, what he has to carry is devastating. To hold a tourniquet on his mother’s leg... to see his twin brother’s lips go gray... to sit covered in our blood as Good Samaritans provided the on-the-spot first-aid that kept us both alive... it’s too much for anyone, much less an eight-year-old child," Keely said.
Keely thanked the countless medical professionals and others who did all they could to keep Cooper alive, including strangers who stepped in to help after gunshots rang out at the parade.
"Cooper would not be alive today if it were not for the act of these people who just risked everything to ensure that this little boy lived," Keely said.
She closed out her statement by asking the public for continued prayers.
"Please keep following along and praying for Cooper and for Luke. They are good, sweet boys who love everyone and want good for everyone they know. They believe in the best in people and in the world. Their lives are so much more and better than this terrible thing that was done to them. Their lives are not a tragedy, they are a triumph," Keely said.
As Cooper's road to recovery continues onward, his mom is determined to find bright spots amid all the darkness.
"The lesson in this is not that one person did this horrible thing. The lesson in this is that thousands of people did great things, kind things and continue to do kind things… we are so overwhelmed by kindness," she said.
Also on Wednesday, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office announced that a Grand Jury indicted the suspected parade shooter on 117 felony counts.
He is now charged with 21 counts of first-degree murder, three counts for each deceased victim, along with 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm for each victim who was struck by a bullet, bullet fragment, or shrapnel.
The full statement can be read HERE.