8-Year-Old Highland Park Shooting Survivor Out Of Critical Condition

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — The 8-year-old boy who suffered a severed spine when he was shot at the Highland Park 4th of July parade has been transferred out of the intensive care unit and is no longer in critical condition, his family said.

Cooper Roberts was able to eat solid food — macaroni and cheese — for the first time in nearly a month. Roberts, who has been paralyzed from the waist down, was also able to to visit the playroom at Comer Children's Hospital several times last week, according to family representatives.

On Sunday, Roberts was transferred to the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab to continue the rehabilitation process. He has also recently been able to visit with his dog George.

This week, the medical team at the facility, formerly known as the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, will conduct a series of assessments to figure out what kind of therapy is most appropropriate, as well as other mental health and rehabilitation services to help him regain strength and reach his maximum potential, according to family representatives.

His mother, Zion School District 6 Superintendent Keely Roberts, and his twin brother, Luke, were also among the approximately 50 people wounded in the mass shooting, which left seven people dead.

“Please keep following along and praying for Cooper and for Luke," Keely Roberts said in a statement Friday.

"They are good, sweet boys who love everyone and want good for everyone they know. They believe in the best in people and in the world," Roberts said.

"Their lives are so much more and better than this terrible thing than was done to them," she added. "Their lives are not a tragedy, they are a triumph.”

Cooper is now breathing on his own while his collapsed lung continues to heal, according to family representatives, who reported that he was fever-free for most of last week.

The family has established a GoFundMe online fundraiser, which had raised more than $1.7 million as of Monday. Organizers asked anyone who would rather make a tax-deductible donation through another organization to email them.

Read more: 8-Year-Old Highland Park Shooting Victim's Mother Describes Road Ahead