BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — A Boynton Beach neighborhood is grieving the loss of an 8-year-old boy after he drowned in a backyard swimming pool Monday afternoon. A tragedy that is now part of a record-breaking and deadly trend for children across Florida.
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The Boynton Beach Police Department responded to the 300 block of Boynton Bay Circle on Monday at about 5 p.m. after family members reported that Javonte Rahming, 8, had left the residence a short time earlier and their efforts to locate him had been unsuccessful.
As officers searched the area, a Real Time Crime Center operator using a department drone located a motionless child in a swimming pool in the 1900 block of NE Second Lane — a property adjacent to the Boynton Bay neighborhood. Police said there is no connection between the two households.
Officers immediately responded to the residence, removed Rahming from the pool, and began life-saving measures. He was transported to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased.
Neighbors who watched the scene unfold say the moment was devastating.
"I knew something was wrong when I seen all those police," said neighbor Mary Williams.
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During the investigation, detectives reviewed surveillance footage from the residence where the pool was located. The footage showed Rahming was alone when he entered the fenced backyard — without the residents' knowledge — and jumped into the pool at about 4 p.m. — a full hour before his family reported him missing.
Manuel Rosales, the homeowner, told WPTV he was unaware anything had happened until police arrived.
"When police arrived, I was at home resting and I didn't realize what was happening," Rosales said.
Detectives said there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the incident and no foul play is suspected. The investigation remains active. The Boynton Beach Police Department extended its deepest sympathies to those who knew and loved Rahming.
Williams described the heartbreaking moment she watched first responders work to save him.
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"They brought him out, and the ambulance was there, they opened the door, and then they just had something over him, like they were trying to get him to come back," she said. "You could see his little feet hanging out and stuff."
Rahming's death is part of a devastating and growing trend. Here in Palm Beach County, the number one cause of child drowning is unsupervised water activity.
This latest drowning in Palm Beach County comes after a 2-year-old drowned in a Greenacres canal in March and another 2-year-old drowned in Palm Beach Gardens in May.
Anna Stewart, manager of the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Palm Beach County, is using this tragedy to remind families how quickly a drowning can happen.
"Children under the age of five are very susceptible to drowning, but in addition to that, children with autism and related disabilities are 160 times more likely to drown than their neurotypical peers, because we do find that children are attracted to water," Stewart said.
Stewart said layers of protection — including pool barriers, close supervision, and swim lessons — are the most effective tools for prevention.
"If you are in and around water, you want to make sure you designate an adult water watcher whose sole responsibility for 10 to 15 minutes is to watch that body of water — to make sure that there's never a lapse in adult supervision,"she said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Read more of WPTV's related coverage below:
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