The family of Cooper Roberts and his 8-year-old twin brother Luke are thankful for the first responders who saved their sons’ lives. The twins were at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois with their parents when they were struck by bullets during the deadly mass shooting. A suspect named Robert “Bobby” Crimo III allegedly killed seven people and injured over two dozen others in the tragic incident.

According to NBC 5 Chicago, over the weekend, the family learned that Cooper was left paralyzed from the waist down. As of yesterday (July 10), he remained in serious condition at Comer Children’s Hospital. His procedures are scheduled to continue today (July 11). During the Fourth of July attack, Cooper sustained several serious injuries, including a severed spinal cord. Anthony Loizzi, a family spokesperson, said, “He is in a great deal of pain — physically and emotionally — especially as the family had to share with him the devastating news that he is paralyzed from the waist down.”

Cooper’s brother Luke sustained injuries from shrapnel and was released from the hospital. Their mother, Zion Elementary School District 6 Superintendent Keely Roberts, was shot in the leg and foot. Sources say after receiving treatment, she was released at her request to be by her children’s side.

“It has been a very tough weekend for the Roberts family tending to their 8-year-old son, Cooper Roberts, who was shot and suffered a severed spinal cord among other injuries at the Highland Park, Illinois Independence Day parade,” a statement from the family’s spokesperson began. They thanked “the heroic doctors and nurses who first cared for Cooper at Highland Park Hospital.”

The statement continued, “The family wishes to acknowledge and thank the many, many people — emergency medics, police, fire department, nurses and doctors at both hospitals — who did extraordinary things to save Cooper’s life. It was a true miracle. And to thank from the bottom of their hearts the thousands who have prayed, sent gifts, supported the family in myriad ways and donated to the Go Fund Me campaign for Cooper’s long-term care.”