Authorities are investigating the death of a 3-year-old boy who was found with a slash wound inside a home in Lancaster Tuesday evening.
Deputies responded to the home in the 43400 block of 57th Street West just before 11 p.m.
They found a 3-year-old boy who was unresponsive and began CPR until the child could be transported to a local hospital, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Wells said.
Deputies also discovered the boy had a laceration to his upper body, the Sheriff’s Department later said in a news release.
The boy was pronounced dead after arriving at the hospital. He was later identified as David Jacques Hernandez of Lancaster.
Video showed caution tape being put up around the two-story home as homicide detectives conducted an investigation.
A neighbor who did not want to be identified said she knew the boy who lived in the home.
“He was always really happy, really sweet. It’s shocking because it’s nothing I would expect,” she told KTLA.
A man at the home, Rena Naulls, 39, was taken to the hospital after attempting to take his own life at the home. Naulls is the boyfriend of the boy’s mother and had been living in the home.
He has since been named as a person of interest in the investigation. Three other children who lived in the home were not injured, but have been placed in protective custody.
Neighbors were stunned to hear of the boy’s death.
“I was very shocked,” said Gabriel Rodriguez, a neighbor. “They always had kids outside playing, playing basketball on the street so I’ve always seen them. I’ve lived here for about 15 years now and we’ve never had anything like that happen around here.”
No other injuries were reported and no arrests had been made, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Anyone with information was asked to call homicide investigators at 323-890-5500. Those who prefer to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
KTLA’s Alberto Mendez contributed to this report.
