Deputies with the sheriff's Palmdale station responded to Melville J. Courson Park on 10th Street around 9 a.m. Wednesday after receiving a call from a mother who said her son could not breathe and that CPR was being performed. The child was rushed to the Antelope Valley Medical Center, where he later died.
The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner later identified the child as Cameron Flores, who was just under 20 months old.
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, deputies who responded to park spoke with the father, Schaffer Grindstaff, who said his young son was suffering from a medical emergency. Grindstaff was later arrested for accessory to conceal a crime, child endangerment.
The cause of Flores' death remains under investigation.
Young boy dies after being found unresponsive at Palmdale park
Neighbors, who declined to be identified, said the tragic scene began inside a car. One person said the child was in the passenger seat and his father was performing CPR.
"Next thing you know the cop gets the dad out of the way and starts doing CPR as well, and pulls the kid out the car, puts him on the floor and completes doing CPR on the kid," the witness said.
Due to confidentiality laws, the Department of Children and Family Services said it could not disclose whether the agency has been involved with the child or his family.
"The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services joins the community in mourning the loss a child from the Antelope Valley," read a statement from DCFS. " State law protects the confidentiality of records for all children and families who may have come to the attention of child protective services, and prohibits confirming or commenting on whether a child or family has been involved with the department. These laws are in place to protect the confidentiality of children, siblings and their families as they seek to resolve sensitive matters.
The department's priority is the safety and well-being of the children and youth in the county who may be victims of abuse or neglect. Our mission to protect children is one we share with law enforcement and the community, and we continue to collectively strive toward a shared vision of all children growing up in safe, stable, loving homes."
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact LASD's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.