A representative for the family said Thursday that an 8-year-old kid had a severed spinal cord after being shot in the chest during the July 4th attack on a Chicago parade. His twin brother and mother were also wounded.

Cooper Roberts was among the most severely injured of the scores of victims who survived bullets and other injuries in the Independence Day attack in Highland Park, highlighting the physical and mental misery that extends beyond the lives lost to such violence.

A family spokesman stated that he was classified in critical but stable condition on Thursday while still breathing with the assistance of a ventilator. It was unclear how many of the at least 46 people hospitalized following the attack have now been released.

Luke, the twin brother of Cooper was hospitalized with shrapnel injuries to his lower torso but was released after surgeons removed the debris. Keely Roberts, the mother of the boys, sustained gunshot wounds to her legs and feet, a spokeswoman informed reporters on a Zoom call.

The twins attended the parade with both of their parents, the father, Jason Roberts, remaining unharmed.

Cooper may never walk again due to the severity of his spinal cord injury, according to Loizzi, a colleague of the mother's who is the head of an elementary school district in Lake County.

Cooper, a typically "very active" boy with a penchant for baseball and other sports, has remained unconscious and sedated at the University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital, according to Loizzi.

Loizzi stated that the mother, who underwent at least two surgeries herself, was so distressed by her son's situation that she insisted on being freed from the hospital on Wednesday, before her bleeding was under better control, to be with him at the children's hospital.

The boy has undergone multiple surgeries, including one on Wednesday evening, during which physicians "finally closed his belly," according to the spokeswoman.

Although he was unaware of the specifics of Cooper's prognosis, Loizzi told reporters that the boy's mother and an older sibling discussed how "it will be a new normal for him going forward."

The youngster is battling as hard as he can to recover, according to Loizzi. He added that the entire family, including four older sisters, was "devastated but focusing their energy on Cooper,"

"It's been a very emotional time for everyone in their circle," he added, adding that he was unsure if Luke had been informed of the seriousness of his twin's illness.

Loizzi stated that both boys "loved the parade" and had previously attended the event, but he did not know where they were when shots were fired along the parade path.

Friends of the family created a GoFundMe campaign to assist with medical expenses.

The Roberts was not the first family to endure many fatalities in the Highland Park, Illinois violence.

Irina McCarthy, 35, and her husband, Kevin McCarthy, 37, were killed; their 2-year-old son was found wandering unharmed but alone and orphaned after the incident.