1 hour ago
3
A 9-year-old boy died on his first day learning to swim at a Virginia summer camp — devastating his mom, who demanded answers about the baffling tragedy.
The child, King Overton, was unresponsive when he was pulled from a pool at Swim RVA in Chamberlayne and given CPR at around 2:30 p.m Monday, according to Henrico County Police and camp staffers.
He was rushed to the hospital, where he died, NBC’s Channel 12 reported.
“I’m devastated. I’m numb. I’m starting to get mad. It’s just a bunch of emotions all built at once,” LaTaisha Johnson said of her son’s death Thursday.
“He was the smallest person who was like the biggest personality. And he loved to joke. He was just… he was great,” Johnson told the station. “He was my best friend, he was really my best friend.”
She said her son was excited to learn to swim when she dropped him off at the camp Monday morning.
Johnson recalled his heartbreaking final words as she said goodbye to him on his first day, according to WRIC.com.
“My baby turned around and said, ‘OK mom, love you.’ I said, ‘I love you the most. Have a good day’ I turned around, I walked out, and that was the last time I seen my son alive,” she said.
The exact circumstances surrounding little King’s death were not immediately known.
“I don’t know anything,” she told the outlet. “I just know they found my baby at the bottom of a pool.”
Earlier this week, the heartbroken mom posted a tribute to her son on social media.
“King was our everything,” Johnson wrote on Facebook. “He was the love of our lives our heart our joy and our reason for so much. The pain we are feeling right now is unbearable.”
A rep for the summer camp said it’s working with “authorities as they review the circumstances surrounding this incident.”
“It is with profound sadness that we report that at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Monday, June 15, a participant in our summer camp was unresponsive after being removed from the pool,” the camp said in a statement to Channel 12.
“Our hearts are with the child’s family and loved ones during this loss. We extend our deepest condolences and are keeping them and all those affected by this tragedy in our thoughts.”
English (US)