Police said they are investigating the death of a 12-year-old boy who stopping breathing after getting wrapped up in a rope swing in the backyard of a Palm Bay home where he was in foster care.
The boy died Sunday at a home on the 1300 block of Meadowbrook Road, according to Palm Bay police.
Officers were called to assist Palm Bay Fire-Rescue with an emergency call about a child not breathing. The boy was airlifted to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police said the boy was in the backyard playing on what was described as a "Tarzan-style" rope swing with an open loop at the bottom, when he somehow got wrapped up in the loop, causing him to asphyxiate.
According to detectives, the boy was alone in the backyard for 15–20 minutes.
"It's a tragic, freak accident," Palm Bay police Special Victims Unit Detective Jasmine Smith said in a statement Monday. "We are still investigating all the circumstances and are still trying to notify the boy's next of kin."
Police said three other foster children living at the home have been relocated, the Florida Department of Children and Families has begun investigating the incident, and detectives were working with the State Attorney's Office to determine if any criminal charges are applicable.
DCF said they do not know if the swing was handmade.