Girl drowns at Brandon apartment complex

BRANDON (FOX 13) - An 11-month-old girl is dead after a suspected drowning in Brandon.  It happened at the Lucerne Apartments just off of Providence Road.

Deputies are trying to figure out how she wound up in the water, and who was supposed to be watching her. 

"This is one of those difficult types of cases where anytime a child is involved, it is something that gets everyone's attention," said Danny Alvarez of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

The view from SkyFOX showed the lake is not blocked off from the apartment buildings. Deputies can't yet say whether the girl lived at the complex, what she was doing, who was supposed to be watching her and who found her. 

"Every single law enforcement officer is either the son or the daughter of some parents, or has children of their own," said Alvarez. "When you arrive on scene like that, where there is a child who is injured, it's one of the most difficult parts of this job."

Deputies won't yet say who called 911. 

The dive team was brought in. But by the time they got there, the girl was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. 

Deputies say it's too early to determine if there was any criminal neglect.

"Right now everybody is being questioned, not necessarily from anything other than trying to figure out what happened point of view," said Alvarez.

Deputies say you should take this opportunity to review safety at your own home, to make sure you have things like gates and alarms.

Deputies may provide an update Tuesday morning.