As many know, on July 4th (Independence Day) of this year, a gunman hid amongst a crowd during a parade and then went to the roof of a local business, then he proceeded to unleash a volley of rounds on the unsuspecting crowd. He managed to kill almost a dozen people and leave twice as many in the hospital. The main topic of this article will be one of those left in the hospital, a little 8-year-old boy named Cooper Roberts.
Cooper was with his family enjoying the festivities while the assailant shot two quick bursts of his assault weapon into the crowd. One of his bullets went through Cooper’s body with severe consequences. The bullet hit his liver, esophagus, severed his spinal cord, and caused so much internal bleeding that the doctors had to go through extraordinary measures to make sure he survived the attack. Because of all of this, Cooper was in excruciating pain and had to endure multiple surgeries shortly after being first saved from the bullet.
His organs for the most part were patched up and are in the process of healing themselves as I type this, but something far worse has occurred because of the bullet. Since the bullet severed Cooper’s spinal cord, he has been paralyzed from the waist down. Doctors currently believe that he might never be able to walk again, for the damage to the spinal cord is far too serious to be remedied.
Cooper’s mother and twin brother were also injured with the shrapnel of other bullets, both ending up in the same hospital. Luke, Cooper’s twin, was injured in his leg when the shrapnel struck him, but thankfully he is already on the track to fully recover. Their mother, Keely Roberts (the superintendent of Zion Elementary School District 6) was shot too, having injuries in her legs and feet.
The only good news to emerge from this tragedy is that Cooper has no lasting effects of brain damage. Normally, when someone suffers an injury to their spinal cord or their respiratory functions, they can go without proper functions that keep their brains alive. However, Cooper made it out without any damage to his cognitive processes and was able to breathe on his own and speak by Friday, only 3-4 days after suffering the original injuries.
The shooter, Robert Crimo III is still going through trial as the typing of this piece but is likely going to be facing multiple murder charges in the first degree.
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