4-year-old Boy Gives His Life to Save 3-Year-Old Girl from Drowning

In a heartbreaking end to an amazing story, the 4-year-old hero who went into a coma after he saved a 3-year-old girl from drowning in a pool has been taken off life support.

Xander Vento sacrificed himself to save the girl in a Fort Worth, Texas, community pool — holding her above water while he was forced under. Now, in a final act of heroism, he will donate his organs.

His parents released this statement:

We’ve made the extremely difficult decision to remove our precious son Xander from life support. We send heartfelt thanks to all of you who kept our family in your thoughts and prayers; we’re appreciative of your love and support. We in some way hope our son’s life serves as an inspiration. He was the angel in the pool who sacrificed himself to save another. And now he continues to give as an organ donor. We were blessed to have such a kind and caring boy as Xander who set an example for all of us and even now he will be saving lives by giving of himself.

Paramedics reportedly pulled Xander from the bottom of the pool. Xander’s mom, Misty, was said to be at the pool during the incident. Why wasn’t she watching him, and why didn’t she rescue him?