Late Hafis Kareem
The son of a Nigerian diplomat, Hafis Kareem, 15, was confirmed dead by Police, Sunday morning, after being drowned at the New Mark Commons community pool in Rockville, Maryland, USA.
It was gathered that Kareem and some other kids jumped over the fence to get into the pool area, late Saturday night.
According to the Montgomery Police, “we were told Kareem went under water and the others with him yelled for help, asking someone walking by to call 911. The 15-year old was taken to the hospital where he died early Sunday morning.”
Hafis Kareem’s father was a diplomat at the Embassy of Nigeria, Washington, DC and just recently got posted back to Abuja.
His sister, Hamidat Kareem, doesn’t understand why he was in the water because he didn’t know how to swim.
She said: “None of us knows how to swim, so I don’t know what happened, if they pushed him in. We had a pool party here and he didn’t swim, he just stood by the pool.”
However, police said that from their investigation, there was nothing to indicate Kareem was pushed, adding: “We’re told the kids were at the pool for about an hour before the incident happened – it’s unclear what happened but police believe these were teenagers playing teenage games. Detectives talked to the friends and are calling it an accidental drowning.”
The whole situation doesn’t sit well with the family, who said the friends ran away after they called for help.
According to Hamidat, “they are not really his friends, real friends would stay with you and be there for you.
“Residents tell us kids have snuck in before but nothing like this has happened. A new fence was put up we’re told in the past couple of years, in part, to prevent things like this from happening.”
Mincy Neil, who has lived in the area for 27 years, said: “Kids do sneak in from time to time; we haven’t had any incidents since we put the new fence but apparently they got in that way. It’s a tragedy one family is now struggling to cope with.
“He was just an amazing person, I am going to miss him so much,” Hamidat Kareem added.
Montgomery County Police are said to still be investigating but he has since been buried in Virginia.
Source: Vanguard
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