A Montgomery County family is mourning the death of an 11-year-old boy after a sudden medical emergency at Farmland Elementary School on Monday.
A Maryland boy — a fifth grader at the Rockville school — died Monday after falling ill and collapsing in a classroom, according to school officials. The school was under a brief shelter in place while first responders made their way to the classroom.
The boy’s mother said he had been complaining of chest and throat pain for nearly a month, but she was unable to take him for treatment due to medical costs, according to WTOP’s news partners at NBC Washington. His family lives in a county shelter.
In a letter to parents sent Tuesday, Farmland Principal April Longest said the school community is working to balance offering respect and support to the boy’s family.
“While we have not shared this loss with any of our students, our school psychologist and counselors along with the district-level staff were on-site and available to support our students who were present when the medical emergency occurred,” Longest wrote.
“We will continue to have qualified staff on-site to support students and staff as we deal with this loss in the days ahead.”
The Baltimore medical examiner’s office is still working to determine the boy’s cause of death.
Watch an interview with the child’s mother below by our news partners Telemundo 44.
WTOP’s Megan Cloherty contributed to this report.
