HOUSTON — A 9-year-old boy died after first responders found the boy unresponsive at the Valencia Grove apartments in southeast Houston.
Police said they found the boy Monday just before 5 a.m. at the complex on Algonquin Drive near the Gulf Freeway in the Southbelt area.
Neighbors heard the boy's mother screaming for help before rushing down and performing life-saving measures on the child. Firefighters arrived within a few minutes and took over CPR before taking the boy to the hospital. He was pronounced dead an hour later.
During HPD's preliminary investigation, police said the 9-year-old boy appeared malnourished. The boy also had a recent medical condition, as well as a long-term medical condition. Investigators don't know at this time if those conditions played a part in the boy's death but said that the mother had two other children in the home who also appeared to be malnourished but, according to police, they didn't have any medical conditions.
The mother said the 9-year-old had cystic fibrosis and failure to thrive. Also, CPS said it is investigating but has had no history with the family.
"The 9-year-old was extremely thin," HPD Asst. Chief Chandra Hatcher said. "His stomach was sunk in and that's pretty much the extent we know at this time.
Neighbors told police that they have seen the mother's children asking for food around the apartment complex.
"I hope somebody takes care of them," a neighbor told KHOU 11. "Really, because that's a sad case...I never see the parents."
Police found food inside the home and in the kitchen, and said the mother had only been there for about two months. They said it's unclear if foul play is involved.
The medical examiner's office will now determine how the 9-year-old died.