Comment An 8-year-old boy who was shot during the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill., remains in critical condition with a severed spinal cord. Cooper Roberts is sedated and on a ventilator at a children’s hospital in Chicago, family spokesman Anthony Loici said during a news conference Thursday. The elementary school student is among the youngest victims of the mass shooting that left seven dead and dozens more injured. “It’s going to be a new normal for him going forward,” Loizzi said, growing emotional at times. “They are not sure, because of the severed spinal cord, whether or not he will be able to walk again in the future.” Tell The Post: How has gun violence affected the way you parent? Also injured were Cooper’s mother, Keeley, and his twin brother, Luke.Luke Roberts suffered shrapnel injuries, Loici said, and is recovering at home after being released from the hospital. Kiley Roberts, who serves as the superintendent of Zion Elementary School District 6, was shot twice in the leg and foot. On Wednesday, he was released from the hospital after surgery. She had insisted on being released, Loizzi said, and has focused on her son’s injuries. “After she had her second surgery and then got word that Cooper’s spinal cord had been severed, she told her doctors and nurses that she either had to be discharged or she was going to leave on her own because she had to be with the son her,” he said. The twin boys are the youngest of Keely and Jason Roberts’ six children. The two “loved the parade,” Loizzi said. He did not know details of how the family was injured or where they were standing along the parade route. Cooper, a sports fan and the younger of twins, was shot in the chest and taken to the hospital by Life Flight, according to a Zion Elementary School District 6 update shared with community members. He has undergone several surgeries, Loizzi said, “including one last night in which the doctors were finally able to close his body.” As of Thursday, an online fundraiser had received more than $235,000 in donations for the family. Loizzi said the Roberts, who are expected to face significant medical expenses, appreciate the support they’ve received and lean on each other. “They’re devastated, but they’re focusing all their energy right now on Cooper,” he said. “It was a very emotional moment for everyone in their circle, and if you know Keely, she’s just a fighter. And it sounds like Cooper has that part of her in him, because he’s fighting as hard as he can.”
