8 year-old paralyzed after Highland Park parade shooting now critical

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (WGN-TV) — The family of Cooper Roberts, the 8-year-old wounded in the Highland Park parade shooting, said the boy is now in critical condition. Cooper was alert and talking last week but a spokesperson for the family issued a statement describing his worsening condition on Tuesday.

Cooper's family said he has a partially collapsed lung and a fever due to a new infection. He underwent an “esophagram procedure” Monday that revealed a tear in his esophagus has reopened.

“As a result, he is facing an urgent, complex, and lengthy surgery” Tuesday to repair the tear, the statement said. The surgery will be his seventh and is a “particularly high risk given his age and current condition,” the statement said.  

A GoFundMe has been set up for the family.