Brooklyn boy, 7, drowns in Long Island swimming pool

BAY SHORE, N.Y. (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — A Brooklyn boy died in an apparent drowning while swimming in a backyard pool on Long Island Saturday evening, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.

Officers responded to a home located on North Thompson Drive in Bay Shore, near Deer Park Street, at 8:25 p.m. after receiving a 911 call that a boy was pulled unresponsive from a swimming pool.

Kyrie Berry, 7, was transported to South Shore University Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The death comes after a 2-year-old died in a similar drowning in Islandia earlier this month, one of four drownings that week on Long Island.

Statistics from Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine’s office indicate that in addition to Berry, at least 10 others have drowned in private swimming pools in the county in 2024, Newsday reported .

“As has been said, ‘If everyone is watching the kids in the pool, nobody is watching,’” Presiding Officer Kevin J. McCaffrey of the Suffolk County Legislature said in a statement earlier this month. “By focusing our attention, by designating someone as the watcher, these tragic drownings can be avoided. There is simply so much that can be done to prevent these deaths from happening.”

Following the uptick in drownings, the county executive’s office reminded the public to enact swimming pool safety measures, like staying within arm’s reach of young children, installing gates to pools and swimming with others.

“Please take some time this season to learn about pool safety,” Romaine said. “It could mean the difference between life and death.”