A 12-year-old boy remained hospitalized late Friday after police pulled him out of a closed north Minneapolis pool and performed lifesaving efforts until medics arrived, officials said.
Park police officer pulls boy, 12, from closed north Minneapolis pool
The gate to the pool was locked, and it is encircled by an 8-foot-tall fence.
June 4, 2021 at 11:39PM
The incident occurred between 4:30 and 4:45 p.m. at North Commons Park just off Golden Valley Road and N. James Avenue, said Park Board spokeswoman Robin Smothers.
The boy was one of two who scaled the barrier, according to emergency dispatch audio. A witness saw the one boy at the bottom of the pool and ran to a nearby business for help, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office said.
The boy was taken by ambulance to HCMC.
Park police officer Allie Simonett "jumped in the pool in full uniform to pull the boy out, and both she and partner Zebariah Hursh performed CPR," the spokeswoman said.
The gate to the pool was locked, and it is encircled by an 8-foot-tall fence, Smothers said.
The pool does not open until June 12, a date set with the end of public schools a day earlier, she said.
The incident came as temperatures in the Twin Cities climbed into the upper 90s on the first truly hot day in the Twin Cities since last summer and the first of many in the forecast.
In the meantime, there are other public swimming options available around the city, Smothers said, including beaches at Wirth Park and Lake Nokomis.
On Saturday, the Webber Park natural pool will open.
On June 12 many more city park swimming pools will open and be staffed with lifeguards.
PAUL WALSH
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