A 7-year-old boy in Sacramento, California, saved the life of a toddler who was drowning in a swimming pool at the apartment complex where the boy lives with his mother and brother.
“I was just playing in the pool, and then I saw a boy at the bottom of the pool,” Massiah Browne — son of 2012 U.S. Olympic boxer Marcus Browne — told “Good Morning America” for the July 29 episode of the ABC television show.
Massiah was with relatives at the apartment complex’s pool on July 19 when he noticed a boy, who turned out to be 3 years old, drowning at the bottom of the pool, WNYW-TV reported.
Wanting to rescue the child, Massiah, who was in the pool with a 9-year-old relative at the time, went into the 6-foot-deep water to pull the toddler out.
“I went to go get him, and then I brought him up,” Massiah said, according to WNBC-TV.
As Massiah swam through the water to rescue the toddler, relatives informed Massiah’s mother, Tiara Delvalle, of what was happening.
Delvalle said she rushed to the pool from her apartment after hearing about the incident from her relatives at the pool, according to Good Morning America.
Massiah said he pulled the toddler by his arm to the pool’s surface, per GMA’s report. From there, the 9-year-old relative, Savannah, pulled the toddler onto the pool’s deck, where adults helped and then called 911.
“Savannah brought him to his mom, and then they did CPR on the boy, and then they called the doctor,” Massiah said.
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First responders responding to a 911 call about the incident gave the toddler CPR.
He was breathing when first responders took him to the hospital, WLS-TV reported, citing a spokesperson for the Sacramento Fire Department.
“The child was transported in critical condition with advanced life-support efforts provided by Sacramento firefighters,” the spokesperson said.
Marcus Browne told Good Morning America that his son is “super empathetic.”
“So, for him to do something like that, I mean, for real, is really nothing out of the norm,” Marcus said.
“It’s just crazy that he’s just 7 years old and he’s doing things like that.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” Marcus said of Massiah, whose nickname is ‘Siah Fire.’ “He’s a good kid.”
“I’m very grateful that he was so brave to do something so heroic,” Delvalle said.
Delvalle said the toddler’s mom says he is doing well.
“It’s a miracle,” Delvalle said of the 3-year-old’s survival.
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