Fundraiser set up after Kansas City, Kansas teen dies following near drowning at pool

A fundraiser has been set up to help pay for the funeral of a teenager declared brain dead after he was pulled from a closed public pool in Kansas City, Kansas.

Over the weekend, it was determined the 13-year-old boy was found to have no brain activity after he was pulled from the pool by firefighters two weeks earlier, according to the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office.

By Thursday afternoon, the verified GoFundMe account had raised more than $4,400. On the page, an organizer said the boy, identified as Emmanuel Solomon, spent a week in a coma.

“This continues to be a confusing time for his family and young siblings as they navigate the American hospitals, healthcare and funeral rituals,” the organizer wrote. “His family are refugees from Uganda and are loved in our community.”

Firefighters were alerted to a child possibly drowning before 7 p.m. June 5 at Parkwood Pool. The sheriff’s office said children hopped the fence and one who jumped into the deep end “couldn’t make his way out.”

The boy’s brother attempted to help him while the others sought assistance at a nearby fire station. Firefighters were able to rescue the teen. He was then taken to a hospital in critical condition.

The pool was closed for the summer. The Unified Government has said it was “very difficult to recruit lifeguards and other key staff when schools were closed and labor shortages are prevalent across the region.”