Highland Park survivor Cooper Roberts throws out first pitch at Cubs-Brewers game
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Cooper Roberts, the boy who was paralyzed from the waist down in the July 4 mass shooting in Highland Park last year, threw out the first pitch at the Cubs game against the Brewers in Milwaukee on Monday.
The Brewers are Cooper's favorite baseball team, and they sent him a special care package last year while he was recovering at the hospital – including a jersey with his name on it.
Cooper, now 9 years old, was recognized on the field at American Family Field before the Brewers hosted the Cubs on Monday. He was joined on the field by other families touched by Highland Park and other mass shootings.
Christian Yelich, Cooper's favorite player, caught the first pitch.
Cooper and his twin brother, Luke, celebrated their 9th birthday last week.
Their mother said Cooper has taken up swimming and is just tackling life head-on.
"I hope that I am able to instill in them that no one gets to break us. No one gets to break them," said Cooper's mother Keely Roberts. "That they own their happy and they own their joy."
The family is now building a new home that's fully accessible for Cooper.
