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Toddler found wandering alone in the aftermath of the Highland Park shooting was left orphaned after both mom and dad killed

Charles R. Davis   

Toddler found wandering alone in the aftermath of the Highland Park shooting was left orphaned after both mom and dad killed
  • Aiden McCarthy, 2, was found alone after the July 4 mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois.
  • On Tuesday, police identified two victims who were the child's parents, according to CBS News.

A two-year-old boy who was found alone and covered in blood after Monday's mass shooting in a Chicago suburb has been left orphaned, CBS News reported Tuesday.

The child, identified by CBS as Aiden McCarthy, was attending a July 4th parade in Highland Park when a gunman opened fire on revelers, killing at least seven people and wounding dozens more. The shooting suspect fired more than 70 rounds from a high-powered rifle, police said.

The toddler was not injured, according to CBS. But a day after the shooting, police said 37-year-old Kevin McCarthy and 35-year-old Irina McCarthy, were both killed. A fundraiser page has identified Kevin and Irina McCarthy as his parents, and has been set up in Aiden's name "to support him" and his grandparents.

Chicago television station WGN reported that in the immediate aftermath of Monday's attack, an unidentified woman was seen carrying the child, who was covered in blood, away from the scene of the shooting. A nearby couple, Greg and Dana Ring, who were there with their own three children, then took the child to a nearby relative's home.

"They said 'can you take care of the little boy?' We said 'of course.' We took him back to our in-laws and he just stayed and watched cartoons," Greg Ring told the outlet. A detective then took the child to his grandparents.

The grandparents will now care for the child, according to the fundraiser organizer, a relative of the boy's deceased mother. The organizer has not responded to Insider's request for comment.

More than $340,000 was collected in the first few hours.

"Aiden will be cared for by his loving family and he will have a long road ahead to heal, find stability, and ultimately navigate life as an orphan," the GoFundMe page read. "He is surrounded by a community of friends and extended family that will embrace him with love, and any means available to ensure he has everything he needs as he grows."

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

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