Woman tried to save boy who drowned in Statesville apartment pool

STATESVILLE, N.C. — Statesville police are investigating the tragic drowning of a 5-year-old boy on Memorial Day.

“I heard screaming,” said one woman who witnessed the panic and heartbreak.

She was at the Signal Hill apartment pool on Monday afternoon when police said the child drowned.

“My son ran to the door and told the landlord to call 911,” the woman, who did not want to be identified, said.

There were several people in and around the pool, and the boy’s parents were just outside the fence, she said.

The boy had just been playing with the woman’s 4-year-old grandson.

“He keeps on saying, ‘Mamaw, what about my little friend?’ and we just tell him we don’t know yet,” she said.

Several people, including one of the woman's friends who works at a nearby hospital, rushed to try to save the boy’s life.

“She started doing CPR on him and he did get a breath or two, she said, and water came out, but he didn’t make it,” she said.

A sign that read “pool closed” was hung at the pool after the drowning and a padlock was put on the gate.

Residents told Channel 9 the apartment pool had just opened this weekend for the summer season.

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