Aiden McCarthy, 2, orphaned in the parade shooting, was protected by his father as the wounded man lay dead.

Kevin McCarthy, 37, and his wife Irina, 35, were among seven people killed in a shell explosion Monday from rooftop to a holiday crowd in Highland Park, Illinois. The Lake County Coroner’s Office said nearly 40 more were injured.

Aiden was shielded from the gunshots of Kevin’s body. Even when the man was injured, Irina’s father and grandfather Aiden’s father, Michael Lefberg, told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Aiden “was pulled from under his father. which is still bleeding by good Samaritans,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat of the United States, told CNN’s John Berman on Wednesday. Wednesday “Then they went to work with his father because his legs were still bleeding.”

The McCarthys were looking forward to seeing a parade with toddlers, Levberg told the Sun-Times.

“They’re crazy regarding their kids,” he said. “They’re planning two.”

After the gunshots had subsided, Aden, a lonely little boy. “Walking down the street,” his grandfather told the Sun-Times. It is an image taken by others and shared on social media.

Neighbor Adrienne Rosenblatt saw a picture of Aiden in the neighbor’s watch page. and began trying to connect him to his grandparents, she told CNN affiliate WLS.

meanwhile A stranger caught up in chaos takes care of a toddler, according to a confirmed GoFundMe campaign that his mother’s cousin Irina Colon started following the shooting.

Dana and Greg Ring saw Aiden following the landslides sparked a parade they were watching, he told WLS the pair tried to get him to the police.

“When we pull in The police looked like they were preparing for war,” Greg said. “I will never forget. I got up and said ‘This is not our child. It’s not his blood. He’s fine. What should we do?’

“Then the police said ‘We can’t be babysitters anymore. Can you take care of him?’

“We said, ‘Of course.’”

Aiden ended up at the police station. where he met Levberg once more, Grandfather told the Chicago Tribune.

“When I picked him up, he said, ‘Will Mom and Dad be coming soon?'” Lefberg said on Tuesday. “He doesn’t understand.”

“At the age of two, Aiden was left in an unthinkable position. to grow up without parents,” the fundraising campaign stated.

“Aiden will be cared for by his beloved family. and he will have a long way to heal find stability and ultimately spent his life as an orphan,” the report said. “He was surrounded by a community of friends and extended family who would embrace him lovingly. and every means available to ensure he has everything he needs as he grows.”

According to GoFundMe accounts that raised more than $2 million Wednesday morning. which will support the boys “And the caregivers assigned to nurture, care for and support Aiden. As he and the support system begin this unexpected journey.”

For now, facing the painful truth may be the first step.

“I don’t know how they’ll tell him,” Rosenblatt told WLS. “A boy whose mother and father are in heaven now.”