A quick-thinking seven-year-old is being praised for taking action that helped save a toddler who was at the bottom of a pool.
Massiah Browne of Sacramento, California, was swimming at his family’s apartment complex when he noticed the little boy at the bottom of the pool. He knew something was wrong and sprang into action, diving in to save the boy.
“I was just playing in the pool, and then I saw a boy at the bottom of the pool,” Massiah Browne, a second-grade student, told ABC News’ “Good Morning America.” “And I went to go get him.”
Massiah, who was in the pool with a 9-year-old cousin, swam down in 6-foot deep water to rescue the boy, according to his mom, Tiara Delvalle. Delvalle said she rushed to the scene from her apartment after being alerted by relatives who were with her son at the pool.
According to Massiah, he noticed a stranger, a 3-year-old boy, with his mouth and eyes open and went into the pool to rescue him, grabbing his arm and pulling him to the surface. From there, his 9-year-old cousin, Savannah, dragged the boy onto the pool deck, where adults arrived to assist and called 911.
“Savannah brought him to his mom, and then they did CPR on the boy, and then they called the doctor,” Massiah said.
According to ABC News, a spokesperson for the Sacramento Fire Department confirmed that first responders did respond to a 911 call at the apartment complex’s pool on July 19.
The boy was reportedly breathing on his own by the time first responders arrived after bystanders performed CPR on him.
“The child was transported in critical condition with advanced life support efforts provided by Sacramento firefighters,” the spokesperson said.
Delvalle is in touch with the boy’s mother, whom she reports is doing well.
In the U.S., drowning is the leading cause of death for kids between the ages of 1 and 4 and the second leading cause of death for kids up to age 14, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A report released last year by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says that male toddlers and teenage boys are the most at risk of drowning.