July 4th Parade Shooting Paralyzed Boy. Two Years Later, His Life Remains Shattered, His Mother Says

CHICAGO (AP) — Keely Roberts is counting the days, not years, since a fatal shooting at an Independence Day parade in 2022 injured her and left one of her twins paralyzed from the waist down.

It’s been 730 days since her son Cooper, now 10, was able to chase his brother Luke around their suburban Chicago backyard, play soccer or jump on his bed.

“This is the 730th anniversary of the total annihilation of our lives,” the Highland Park mother told reporters Wednesday. “This horrible day will be forever etched in our memory, especially in Cooper’s life, which was irreparably shattered.”

Roberts and two of her children were among dozens of people injured in the shooting that killed seven people in the suburb about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Chicago. As Highland Park officials prepared for the first parade since the shooting, victims struggled to understand what happened, many feeling renewed pain.

FILE – A visitor prays at a memorial for the seven people killed and others injured in the July 4 mass shooting at the Highland Park War Memorial in Highland Park, Illinois, July 7, 2022. Keely Roberts, the mother of the youngest victims of the July 4 parade shooting that left one of her twins — now 10 — paralyzed from the waist down, will speak to the media Wednesday, July 3, 2024, about what it means to survive the horror two years later. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)(AP)

The second anniversary comes a week after a shocking hearing in which alleged shooter Robert E. Crimo III was expected to change his guilty plea and allow family members and the injured to address him directly. Instead, Crimo abruptly changed his mind about the plea deal during the proceedings, which victims and family members say caused more suffering. His trial is scheduled for next year.

“We’re not really going to get closure. The wound is too big, too deep,” Roberts said. “There’s nothing healing or restorative or comforting about justice being delayed, especially if it’s delayed in a way that seems cruel.”

Roberts said she almost didn’t attend the hearing, but wanted the opportunity to address Crimo directly in court by reading a victim impact statement. Instead, she spent the hearing fighting back tears. She said it was especially difficult when Crimo shocked everyone and entered the courtroom in a wheelchair. Authorities later said he asked for it because he felt too nervous to walk.

“Cooper never had a choice between using a wheelchair or not,” Roberts said. “He is now forced to live his life as a paraplegic.”

Roberts was shot in the leg, while her son Cooper, the youngest of the wounded, was hit in the back, severing his spinal cord. His twin brother was hit by shrapnel.

This undated photo provided by Jasculca Terman Strategic Communications shows Cooper Roberts, a victim of the 2022 Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park, Illinois. He remains paralyzed from the waist down. Keely Roberts, the mother of the youngest victims of the Fourth of July parade shooting that left one of her twins — now 10 — paralyzed from the waist down, will speak to the media Wednesday, July 3, 2024, about what it means to survive the horror two years later. (The Roberts family/Jasculca Terman Strategic Communications via AP)(AP)

Roberts said his leg injury is still painful and another reminder of what happened. The family renovated their home to make it accessible to Cooper.

Although he struggled with not being able to walk, he showed resilience, Roberts said. He took up adaptive sports, including sled hockey and wheelchair basketball.

This year, Highland Park leaders announced the return of the Fourth of July parade. Last year, the city held a community march instead. Thursday’s parade will follow a new route through downtown, and the city will also hold an indoor memorial ceremony.

Mass shootings often spike during the summer months, and July 4 is historically one of the deadliest days of the year. But city officials said it’s important to return to traditions despite the trauma.

“Independence Day has always been a special occasion for our community to come together around cherished traditions,” Mayor Nancy Rotering said in a statement. “As we continue our journey as a unit of Highland Park, we do so with respect, compassion and support for all those whose lives were forever changed on July 4, 2022, while preserving the community spirit that has always been the hallmark of Highland Park’s Independence Day events.”

Roberts said her family would not be going and that she planned to leave town with her six children to relax on a lake in Wisconsin.

“I don’t know,” she said, “if we’ll be able to attend the parade again.”