ANOTHER STEP

Boy Paralyzed in Highland Park Shooting Miraculously Returns to School

Cooper Roberts, who now uses a wheelchair, started the third grade on Monday.

Cooper Roberts, the 8-year-old who was paralyzed after being shot during the Highland Park massacre on July 4, has returned to school for the first time since nearly dying three months ago, his family says. Roberts, who now uses a wheelchair, had his first day of third grade on Monday, where he shares a class with his twin brother, Luke. “We cried in the parking lot as he wheeled himself into the school, cried as we pulled out of the parking lot,” the family said in a statement. “...The significant rehabilitation he has needed (and continues to need for hours every day) made it seem as though returning to school would be something we could only hope for way in the distant future.” Roberts told his parents the school day was nearly perfect, and would have only been better if he wasn’t in a wheelchair. A GoFundMe page for the Roberts family has now collected more than $2 million.