Safety records show fence around Raleigh apartment pool where 4-year-old drowned didn't comply with state law

Wake County pool inspection records show that after a 4-year-old boy drowned last month in the pool at a Raleigh apartment complex, investigators found the fence around that pool didn’t meet safety standards set by the state.

The child drowned on May 16 at the Falls Creek Apartment complex on Cattail Creek Place in Raleigh. It happened hours after being reported missing by his mother, authorities said.

In a safety inspection conducted by the county on May 26, 2023 – 10 days after the drowning – investigators found issues with the pool’s fence.

Safety inspectors noted that the pool’s gates were properly locked, but some parts of the fence were not compliant with state law, including gaps of more than four inches in some vertical posts, and a gap greater than two inches under the maintenance gate.

The day of the drowning in May, WRAL News reached out to the Falls Creek Apartments to ask what safety measures they had to keep children out of the pool area.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the child involved in an incident at our apartment community this morning," a spokesperson said on May 16. "We are fully cooperating with local authorities and providing assistance in any way we can."

On June 30, WRAL News reached back out to the apartment complex for a response to the findings in the safety inspections.

An employee declined to respond, citing a need for the inquiry to be addressed by their corporate owner, Morgan Properties.

WRAL News reached out to Morgan Properties for response on June 29 and is awaiting a reply.

A Wake County spokesperson said the 4-year-old boy’s death on May 16 is the only drowning reported in public or private pools since May, but it’s essential for families to be safe around pools this summer.

"There needs to be an adult on the premises if you’re having your younger ones out by the pool," Wake County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Lartey Cade told WRAL News.