GIFFORD — Deputies said an infant who was rushed to the hospital Friday and later died might have suffocated while sleeping with his mother.
Indian River County sheriff’s spokesman Maj. Eric Flowers described the incident as a “terrible tragedy.”
“It appears the baby suffocated. This shows how deadly co-sleeping can be,” Flowers said. “Parents put their baby in the bed with them. They wake up and the baby is dead. Infants should always be kept in a crib.”
The incident happened at the Samaritan Center, a residential facility for the homeless. Deputies did not suspect any negligence on the part of the center, Flowers said.
An autopsy was being performed Friday to determine an exact cause of the 6-month-old boy’s death, Flowers said. Deputies did not release the names of the mother and infant Friday.
.@IRCSheriff Spokesman Maj. Eric Flowers said deputies suspect Co-sleeping was cause of infant’s death. The 6-month-old boy was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy was being performed Friday, Flowers said. #VeroNews pic.twitter.com/r8NjJ9tBom
— Nicholas Samuel (@JournalistNickS) August 2, 2019
Deputies received a call about a frantic mother and unresponsive infant just before 6 a.m. Friday from the Samaritan Center, Flowers said. The center, 3650 41st Street, is located next to St. Helen’s Headstart Center.
Deputies tried to revive the infant, but were unsuccessful. Deputies took the boy to Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“Everything we see leads us to believe this is a co-sleeping death,” Flowers said. “This is a warning to parents to not co-sleep with infants. We see this way too often.”
There was also a crib in the room where the two were sleeping, Flowers said.
It was unclear if there were any other family members in the room. Deputies continue to investigate the circumstances leading to the child’s death, but could not say if charges would be filed.
The mother’s age was not immediately available. It was not immediately known if the mother will continue to stay at the center, which remained open Friday.
Details on how long the family was staying at the center also were not available.
The Florida Department of Children and Families was notified about the boy’s death, Flowers said. This was not the first infant death involving co-sleeping to happen in the county this year.
In late June, parents dialed 911 after finding their baby boy not breathing at a home in the Timber Ridge Village community, Flowers said. The child was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Friday morning’s incident at the center served as a reminder to parents to always keep their infant child in a crib, Flowers said.
Samaritan Center is a long-term transitional residential facility for homeless families in Indian River County. The center, located on a five-acre plot, has day case managers on site all day to help families develop life skills.
But, it was unknown if the center regularly checked on rooms at the building.
The center, part of the Catholic Charities Diocese of Palm Beach, provides its clients with several services including housing, employment counseling, financial management, parenting classes, educational workshops and more. Further details were not immediately available.