JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An 8-year-old girl remains at Wolfson Children's Hospital Monday after nearly drowning in a community pool.
Police say it happened just after 3:30 on Ellis Island Drive on the Southside.
Witnesses told investigators they saw the girl at the bottom of the pool in the Johns Creek community. That's when good Samaritans jumped in to save her.
At last check the 8-year-old was in critical condition. Investigators aren't revealing who was with this little girl at the time or who was supposed to be watching her.
This kind of story strikes fear in the heart of any parent, and many in the neighborhood where this happened are praying for the girl tonight.
"Whether it's in your own backyard or a community pool, you want to make sure your kids are safe," said Tyler Person, another dad in the neighborhood.
Safety rules are laid out on the Johns Creek community pool sign. It states children under the age of 13 must be under the supervision of an adult.
"If you bring your own children to a pool, you should make sure that you have your eyes on them at all times, first," said Person.
Person has a two and four-year-old. He said news of an 8 year-old nearly drowning in his neighborhood community pool has him squeezing his children a little tighter, and reviewing safety measures in his own family.
"It's very important to spread safety amongst neighborhoods, as well as neighbors and other family members," Person said.
Channel 4 Crime and Safety expert Ken Jefferson said with more questions than answers surrounding this incident, it's unfair to point a finger, and instead stresses the importance of parents taking an active role and creating dialogue with their children about the dangers that come with swimming.
"In light of incidents like this, this is another conversation that adults and parents have to have with their children to let them know that hey, we want you to have fun, we want you to enjoy the pool, the beach, or whatever, but there are dangers involved and you have to be aware of those dangers and stay away from them if at all possible," Jefferson said.
It's advice Person said he'll adhere to so a similar tragedy doesn't touch his family.
"Just keep your eyes on them. I mean, I'm that way when I'm inside the house and outside. I'm keeping my eyes on them, on my own children."