WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A toddler is in critical condition after being pulled from a waterway in West Palm Beach, police said Wednesday.
The boy, who is almost 2 years old, was found in a lake at about 10:30 a.m. at the Fairway Vista Apartments located in the 1900 block of Brandywine Road.
West Palm Beach
'I heard a mom, just crying:' Woman performs CPR on toddler pulled from lake
Detectives said the child was at home with his mother and an older sibling, who is about 3 or 4 years old, at the time of the incident.
The child's mother said she went to the bathroom and later discovered the boy had slipped out of the home through a screened sliding door. She was the one who later found the boy in the water.
Police said the boy didn't have a pulse and wasn't breathing when he was pulled from the water.
West Palm Beach Police Spokesman Mike Jachles said paramedics were able to restore the child's heartbeat.
The toddler was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center in critical condition. By mid-afternoon, Jachles said the boy attempted to open his eyes.
Police said it's unclear if the child opened the door or if the older sibling let the boy outside.
"I guess a toddler fell in which is unfortunate," Maternst Isoff, who lives in an apartment across the lake from where the toddler fell in, said. "Because I see the kids playing out there all the time, and I always get worried because they get so close to the water."
Isoff said there are alligators in the lake and thought police had come to the scene because of an attack.
He said what happened in the water was heartbreaking.
"One of the worst things that happens in Florida is kids drowning all the time," Isoff said. "I pray for the best for the child."
It's unclear how long the child was in the water.
Police said it's too soon to tell if the toddler will have any long-term damage from the near-drowning.