Correction: The boy’s age has been corrected based on information from the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office. We apologize for the error.
Nov. 21 update:
BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A 3-year-old boy found in the pool of a Baton Rouge apartment complex also has died. The 4-year-old girl he was in the water with died of drowning earlier this month.
Casey Rayborn Hicks, public information director of the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, confirmed the boy’s death on Tuesday, Nov. 21.
Nov. 10 story:
BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — It’s a gloomy day here at Regency Club Apartments. Residents are devastated to hear the news of a 4-year-old girl dead and a 3-year-old boy in critical condition.
Deputies made it to the scene around 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, after the children were found by their parents in the pool.
I spoke with one resident who says he heard the children laughing and moments later, a father screaming.
“The father came up and he goes, did you hear any kids making noise, and I said yeah … he goes how long ago, and I say about 15 minutes. When he went through the gate he started screaming and jumped in the water and pulled two kids out of the water,” said Al Stephenson.
The children’s mother told deputies that the girl and boy left the apartment without her knowledge after she fell asleep.
“The mother came by and then they both started freaking out,” said Stephenson.
Stephenson says as the mother panicked, another neighbor advised her to dial 9-1-1.
“And about 20 minutes later the ambulance showed up, two of them did and we noticed that the kids were not responsive,” said Stephenson.
The Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office said CPR was performed on both children before being taken to the hospital.
“It could be nine o’clock for the resident or a lot of the time it’s midnight, we’ve had families out there at midnight splashing around and using the BBQ, just having fun,” said Stephenson.
