A jersey honoring 8-year-old Cooper Roberts, who was paralyzed from the waist down during a July 4 mass shooting in Highland Park, is seen in the Milwaukee Brewers dugout before a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates Friday, July 8, 2022, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)This handout photo provided by The Roberts family shows Cooper Roberts who along with his twin brother and parents attended the July 4 parade in Highland Park, Ill. Cooper was struck in the chest in a hail of gunfire that left dozens of others wounded and seven dead, said Tony Loizzi, a family spokesperson. (The Roberts Family via AP)Milwaukee Brewers' Omar Narvaez points near jersey honoring 8-year-old Cooper Roberts, who was paralyzed from the waist down during a July 4 mass shooting in Highland Park, is seen in the Milwaukee Brewers dugout before a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates Friday, July 8, 2022, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)A jersey honoring 8-year-old Cooper Roberts, who was paralyzed from the waist down during a July 4 mass shooting in Highland Park, is seen in the Milwaukee Brewers dugout before a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates Friday, July 8, 2022, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)A jersey honoring 8-year-old Cooper Roberts, who was paralyzed from the waist down during a July 4 mass shooting in Highland Park, is seen in the Milwaukee Brewers dugout before a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates Friday, July 8, 2022, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
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A jersey honoring 8-year-old Cooper Roberts, who was paralyzed from the waist down during a July 4 mass shooting in Highland Park, is seen in the Milwaukee Brewers dugout before a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates Friday, July 8, 2022, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Brewers placed a ceremonial jersey in their dugout Friday to honor an 8-year-old fan of the team who was wounded during the July Fourth mass shooting in a Chicago suburb.
Cooper's family said Friday that he had regained consciousness for the first time since the shooting. They said doctors don’t believe he suffered any brain damage.
“The strength to go through something like that is unimaginable,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said before the team's game Friday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates. “We’re doing such a small thing, but hopefully it can maybe make one part of the day for them a little bit better.”
The Brewers said in a statement that “we are working on other initiatives to connect players with Cooper and his family, but the priority for now is to focus on their recovery.”
“We’re happy he’s a Brewer fan and want to recognize that and let their family know we’re thinking about them,” Counsell said.
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