The McCarthys were looking forward to seeing the show with their baby, Levberg told the Sun-Times.
“They were crazy about their son,” he lamented. “They were planning a second.”
After the shooting stopped, Aiden — a little boy, alone — “was wandering down the street,” his grandfather told the Sun-Times. The image was captured and shared by those present on social media.
A neighbor, Adrienne Rosenblatt, saw Aiden’s photo on a neighborhood watch page and began trying to connect him with his grandparents, the woman told CNN affiliate WLS.
Meanwhile, amidst the chaos, strangers were taking care of the child, points out GoFundMe, a campaign that Aiden’s mother’s cousin, Irina Colon, started after the shooting.
Dana and Greg Ring spotted Aiden after the barrage of gunfire ended the parade. The pair tried to take the boy to the police.
“When we arrived, the cops looked like they were getting ready for a war,” Greg recalled. “I’ll never forget. I stopped and said, ‘This is not our son. He is not of our blood. He is fine. What should we do?””
“And the policeman replied, ‘We can’t be babysitters now. Can you take care of him?’ We agreed: ‘Of course’.”
Aiden ended up at a police station, where he met up with his grandfather.
“When I picked him up, he was like, ‘Are Mom and Dad coming soon?’” Levberg said Tuesday. “He doesn’t understand.”
“At two years old, Aiden is left in an unthinkable position: growing up without his parents,” the fundraiser pointed out.
“Aiden will be cared for by his loving family and will have a long way to go to heal, find stability and ultimately navigate life as an orphan,” the statement continues.
“He is surrounded by a community of friends and family who will embrace him with love and with every means available to ensure he has everything he needs as he grows up.”
More than $2 million has been raised as of Wednesday morning, according to the GoFundMe account, which will support the boy “and the caregivers who will be tasked with raising, caring for and supporting Aiden as he and his support network embark on this unexpected journey.”
For now, facing this anguished reality should be the first step.
“I don’t know how they’re going to tell him,” Rosenblatt told WLS. “How do you tell a boy that mommy and daddy are in heaven now?”
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
