FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Emotions ran high Thursday night and into a somber Friday morning as a family mourns the loss of a 4-year-old boy who drowned in a pool.
Family members, so distraught they packed their bags and left their Fort Lauderdale home, spoke to detectives about the tragic incident.
7News cameras on Friday captured loved ones hugging outside the residence, located along the 1800 block of Northwest 15th Place.
The community expressed their shock and heartbreak.
“My heart is breaking, you know, because nobody should lose a child,” said Ms. Curry, a neighbor in the area. “They’re precious to us, they’re God’s gift on Earth.”
The 911 call came in Thursday just after 7:50 p.m.
“You’re being dispatched to a drowning … It’s going to be for a 4-year-old male drowning in the pool,” a dispatcher said in radio transmissions.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue units arrived on the scene and found the boy unresponsive in the pool.
“[Engine] 246, we’ve arrived. We’ve got one person in the water,” a first responder said said in radio transmissions.
Rescue crews attempted CPR and other lifesaving measures. They rushed the child to Broward Health Medical Center, where chest compressions continued, but sadly, it was too late.
This marks the second water tragedy in just a week. Over this past weekend in Lauderhill, a 9-year-old girl hit her head at the bottom of a pool and was also found unresponsive. She’s currently in critical condition at Broward Health Medical Center.
“My prayers are with the family,” said a woman, who did not want to be identified, on Thursday night. “It’s sad; it makes me want to cry. I don’t have no idea how it happened, but all I know is, it’s a sad situation.”
This sad situation serves as a reminder for the community to ensure safety precautions are in place for young children.
“If you have kids, make sure you have a safety fence or, like, some time of alarm, so you will know that your child is somewhere near the pool,” said Ms. Curry. “It’s so important, awareness, ’cause a lot of children, they die in drowning situations.”
It’s unclear how the boy gout out to the pool area and whether any charges will be filed.
“You have to be cautious of the little ones,” said Ms. Curry. “Please, take them to learn how to swim, so if they ever fall in the pool, they know how to get out of the situation.”
There are several free services across Broward County that offer swimming classes to children. For more information. click here.
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