Worshipers at St. Jude's Catholic Church were horrified Monday evening, July 9 when a three-year-old child stopped breathing and later died.
Police dispatchers received a call from someone at the church at 6:31 p.m. to report that the Riverbank boy had stopped breathing.
Deputy Chief Mike Borges was the first to arrive on scene after hearing the call while he was on his way to the Ceres City Council meeting. Borges found the boy in his mother's arms on the north side of the church building without a pulse and began administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation until paramedics arrived. The mother could not speak English and was visibly shaken as were others around the boy.
The boy - whose name was not available - was whisked away by ambulance and later pronounced dead at Memorial Medical Center.
The child's medical history may have played a role in his death, said Borges. The child had a port and was recently released from the hospital but no information was available on the nature of his treatment.
An autopsy was performed to determine the cause of death.
"He may have suffered an injury as an infant," said Borges. "We are not sure if that injury may have contributed to the condition that caused that child to expire."
Borges, who has five grandchildren, said the "difficult and unfortunate medical aid call" affected him on a personal level as he sat in the council audience that evening.
Police dispatchers received a call from someone at the church at 6:31 p.m. to report that the Riverbank boy had stopped breathing.
Deputy Chief Mike Borges was the first to arrive on scene after hearing the call while he was on his way to the Ceres City Council meeting. Borges found the boy in his mother's arms on the north side of the church building without a pulse and began administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation until paramedics arrived. The mother could not speak English and was visibly shaken as were others around the boy.
The boy - whose name was not available - was whisked away by ambulance and later pronounced dead at Memorial Medical Center.
The child's medical history may have played a role in his death, said Borges. The child had a port and was recently released from the hospital but no information was available on the nature of his treatment.
An autopsy was performed to determine the cause of death.
"He may have suffered an injury as an infant," said Borges. "We are not sure if that injury may have contributed to the condition that caused that child to expire."
Borges, who has five grandchildren, said the "difficult and unfortunate medical aid call" affected him on a personal level as he sat in the council audience that evening.
