EDMONTON- RCMP in Hobbema are investigating the suspicious death of a child.
Officers were called to a residence in Hobbema shortly after 5:00 a.m. Sunday, to a call of an unresponsive toddler. Efforts to resuscitate the child were unsuccessful, RCMP said.
Officers say the child was about 18-months-old. They did not identify the child, but neighbours say it was a girl that died.
The cause of the child’s death has not been released at this time, however, RCMP say firearms were not involved.
“There is no information that suggests that this incident is gang related,” Sergeant Josee Valiquette, a spokesperson with RCMP’s K division added.
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“Our investigators are speaking to witnesses, collecting evidence to try to find out what happened.”
Neighbours in the area say a large family lives in the home. One neighbour, who has asked to remain anonymous, said she woke up to screaming and yelling early Sunday morning and then she heard a knock on her door.
“I answered my door and the neighbour was there wanting to see if I could call the ambulance. And I heard them yelling and screaming that her baby wasn’t breathing,” she explained.
“I don’t know what to think… It’s bothered me. It’s hard.
“I just keep picturing this baby. I (saw) her a couple days ago playing outside and she looked up at me and that was the last time I (saw) her. It’s hard,” she added.
The child’s death is being treated as suspicious. An autopsy has been scheduled for Tuesday, September 3.
Updated at 1:15 p.m. Monday, September 2, 2013 with information from neighbours.
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