Girl dies after being found unconscious in Brooklyn bathtub
A 6-year-old girl died on Friday after being found unconscious in a bathtub filled with water at a Brooklyn apartment, according to the police.
The cause of the girl's death remains unclear. She showed signs of blood clots in her eyes when officers found her, indicating a potential struggle, based on information from two law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity due to an ongoing investigation.
Officials have not released the girl’s identity, and the police announced on Friday night that the investigation into her death is still underway. The medical examiner's office is performing an autopsy, a spokeswoman confirmed.
At around 1:30 p.m., officers responded to a 911 call for assistance at a residence on Elton Street in the Highland Park area and discovered the girl. Her parents were present at the time, as reported by the police.
Emergency service workers transported the girl to Brookdale Hospital, where she was pronounced dead just before 3 p.m.
Later in the evening, two officers remained outside the entrance of the small, two-story brick duplex where the girl had been located, situated on a residential block close to the elevated J train tracks.
Investigators were seen coming in and out of the basement unit of the building through an entrance beneath a staircase. A small Christmas tree was visible through the front window.
Helen Cunningham, a neighbor, recounted witnessing the arrival of officers and emergency personnel at the home around 2 p.m. She noted that they eventually carried out a small girl on a stretcher, with her head peeking out from under a covering sheet.
“I don’t know if she was alive,” stated Ms. Cunningham, 74.
According to Ms. Cunningham, a man she recognized as the girl's father boarded a second ambulance that followed the one with the girl. Later, she observed the police escorting a young woman in handcuffs from the residence. She mentioned that this was the second occasion in a week she saw officers at that address.
Ms. Cunningham described knowing the family as neighbors but not being friends. She mentioned that two or three children lived in the home, and she often saw the father taking them to school.
She added that the family had only recently moved into the residence from a building across the street.
The man, identified by Ms. Cunningham as the father, has worked at a nearby Bravo supermarket for the past two years, according to manager Emmanuel Pichardo.
Mr. Pichardo shared that the father, whom he only knew as George, sent him a text message in Spanish shortly after 4 p.m., stating he would not be coming to work because his daughter had died.
"I'm going crazy," the father wrote in his messages, as reported by Mr. Pichardo. "I'm here until God gives a miracle. I don't know what to do."
Chelsia Rose Marcius and Maria Cramer contributed reporting.
