City police, DCF probing death of 5-month-old boy

Child was brought to hospital Sunday, was unresponsive.

Fort Pierce police and the Department of Children and Families are investigating Tuesday death of a 5-monthold boy.

Police were called to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center at 10:35 p.m. Sunday for a possible child abuse case. The infant was brought to the hospital unconscious and unresponsive by family, according to police. Investigators did not say what led hospital staffff to believe the child may have been abused.

The boy was taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, where he died Tuesday afternoon.

T h e c a u s e o f d e a t h i s unknown.

The Department of Children and Families said the baby’s family, who live in the 400 block of North 15th Street, just north of Orange Avenue, is “familiar to the child welfare system,” but did not go into details. The department said “a thorough quality assurance review will be conducted to review all prior interaction” between the family and DCF.

Secretary Mike Carroll said in a written statement the department has opened an investigation to “examine the circumstances that led to this tragic loss.”

“We are devastated by the death of this baby and grieve with all those who love him,” Carroll said.

This is at least the third d e a t h o f a c h i l d i nve s t i - gated by the department in St. Lucie County this year, according to a DCF database. In February, a 2-monthold who recently had been diagnosed with a respiratory infection was found unresponsive. Earlier this month, a 12-year-old was killed in a car crash in which his father may have been under the influence while operating the vehicle. Both investigations are ongoing.