A 16-year-old has died after selflessly jumping into the ocean to save four younger children who were stuck in an undercurrent.
Bryce Brooks, from Atlanta, was in Pensacola, Florida, with relatives for spring break when he and an older family member died saving four children who were stuck in the ocean on April 6.
The children, whose ages are unknown, had gotten into difficulty in a part of the Perdido Key where no lifeguards were stationed, according to reports from WEAR.
The teenager had dived in to help but went under, and family friend Charles Johnson II went to help the high schooler but also ended up dying, according to Brooks' father Shivy Brooks.
He said during a press conference streamed by Fox 5 Atlanta: "The selflessness that it takes for someone to make such a sacrifice, to do so at only the age of 16, we’re so proud as parents how our son has shown up in this moment.
"Let it be amplified that Atlanta developed kids that would give up their life for others that they didn’t even know."
Other adults on the beach were able to get Brooks and Johnson out of the water and onto the shore, where life-saving measures were administered.
The pair were then airlifted to hospital but were both tragically pronounced dead, with Brooks having died from cardiac arrest, his father said.
Despite his parents and younger brother's grief, the family has expressed their pride that their eldest son would sacrifice his own life to save others.
His mother, Crystal Brooks, added: "He stepped into his manhood to save these children. That makes me proud. It doesn’t take away an ounce of pain, but it makes me proud of our son."
According to the Daily Mail's reports, Brooks was one of three teenagers who rushed to help the children as three others ran to inform adults about the emergency.
The other two teenagers, who have not been named, managed to make it out of the water while onlookers searched for Brooks and Johnson, who was a father of three.
Despite there being yellow flags warning of moderate currents, there were no lifeguards present at that part of the beach at the time of the incident.
The honor roll student's father added at the press conference: "Being selfless, our son Bryce, while being pulled by the currents himself, literally called for help, not for himself, but he was calling for help for the little kids that he was looking out for.
"Bryce is a hero. He literally saved the lives of four kids at the expense of his own."
A GoFundMe was set up for the family and has amassed over $95,000 in donations at the time of writing.
Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Bryce Brooks and Charles Johnson III at this heartbreaking time.
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