The eight-year-old boy left paralyzed in the Highland Park Fourth of July parade shooting is struggling emotionally as he comes to terms with the new reality of his life, family members said.
Cooper Roberts, whose spine was severed when Robert Crimo, 21, shot him through the abdomen in July, feels ‘hopeless, sad, and angry as the reality of his life is setting in,’ his family wrote in an update on the boy’s GoFundMe page yesterday.
‘Cooper is in constant pain. It is agonizing to see,’ his family wrote, ‘He still has internal damage – wounds that are slow to heal.’
Cooper’s family has provided continual updates in the 44 days since he was shot, describing in harrowing detail the injuries which left him paralyzed from the waist down.
His family said, however, that the outpouring of support he has received from the public continues to make Cooper happy, and shared photos of him flashing a thumbs up from a wheel chair and smiling in a standing-wheelchair. He was also recently reunited with his dog, a French bulldog named George.
Cooper’s family shared photos of him flashing a thumbs up from a wheel chair and smiling in a standing-wheelchair
Cooper being reunited with his dog George for the first time after he was wounded during the July 4th massacre in Highland Park, Illinois
Cooper’s family said he is beginning to understand the reality of his new life as he undergoes grueling physical and occupational therapy, all while maneuvering around a number of life supporting tubes inserted into his body.
‘He’s beginning to ask things like, “What will I do at recess?”‘ his family wrote.
They said the ‘the mental and emotional anguish’ of his experience and the realizations of what he has lost are beginning to take a toll on the boy.
‘It is very hard to convince Cooper that he will be happy again,’ his family said, ‘He’s an eight-year-old boy who feels hopeless, sad, and angry as the reality of his life is setting in.’
Cooper bowls on a tabletop at the hospital as he relearns how to live following his paralysis
Cooper’s family said the outpouring of support he has received from the public continues to make him smile
His family said they are sharing the stark depths of Cooper’s struggle to show the world what really happens to shooting victims like him.
‘There are layers upon layers of cruelty with being shot by a sniper. Most people don’t witness the grueling aftermath of surviving these devastating wounds, physical and emotional,’ they wrote.
The family said they want to impress that they are focusing on optimism and hope, but that those emotions are part of a constant battle.
‘We want people to know the unvarnished reality which is his/our new world.’
Cooper Robert, 8, is struggling to come to terms with the new reality of his life as he struggles to recover from his injuries, his family said. Pictured before the mass shooting that changed his life forever
When Cooper first woke up after his early surgeries, one of the first things he asked for was to see his dog George, according to his family
Cooper’s twin brother, Luke, and his mother, Keely, were also wounded in the massacre which left seven people dead and more than 40 wounded.
Luke was also hospitalized with shrapnel wounds in his lower body but was discharged after doctors removed some of the debris, although they were unable to remove it all.
Keely suffered gunshot wounds to her legs and feet and underwent at least two surgeries herself. The family said she was so distraught at Cooper’s condition that she insisted on being released from the hospital early – against doctors’ recommendations – to be with her son at the children’s hospital.
Robert Crimo, 21, pled not guilty to 117 counts – 21 first-degree murder charges, 48 counts of attempted murder, and 48 counts of aggravated battery – earlier this month in an Illinois court
Despite his not-guilty plea, prosecutors have said Crimo admitted to the shooting after police arrested him following their hours-long search for the parade gunman
The latest updates about Cooper come after Crimo plead not guilty to 117 counts – 21 first-degree murder charges, 48 counts of attempted murder, and 48 counts of aggravated battery – earlier this month in an Illinois court.
Despite his plea, prosecutors have said Crimo admitted to the shooting after police arrested him hours after the parade massacre.
Crimo is accused of using a rifle ‘similar to an AR-15’ to spray more than 70 rounds from atop a commercial building into the crowd that had gathered for the parade in Highland Park, an affluent community of about 30,000 on the Lake Michigan shore, police said.
It was later alleged that Crimo had dressed as a woman to carry out the deadly Independence Day attack and was able to flee in the crowd because of the disguise.
Dr. David Baum, a long time obstetrician in Highland Park, was attending the parade with his wife and children to watch his two-year-old grandson participate. When the shots rang out and others fled, he ran into the fray to try to help the victims.
In an interview following the fatal attack, Baum described seeing victims with ‘wartime’ and ‘unspeakable’ injuries.