TYLER, Texas — The Gun Barrel City home where a 6-year-old child died due to possible carbon monoxide poisoning Saturday had no electricity and the family was using a gasoline generator indoor, Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse said Monday.
Police said officers responded to a home in the 100 block of Garrett Lane around 9 a.m. on Saturday to find four victims, including a 3-year-old girl, a 6-year-old boy, a 4-year-old boy and a 28-year-old woman. The 6-year-old was unresponsive.
Despite life-saving measures, the 6-year-old was pronounced dead at a medical center. The woman, who Hillhouse said is the mother of all three children, has been released from the hospital.
Hillhouse said that the 3-year-old and 4-year-old were taken to a Fort Worth hospital.
When the Gun Barrel Fire Department arrived, they noticed the home had no electricity and had a gasoline generator indoor. There was a high level of carbon monoxide in the air. It was over 800 ppm, and over 100 is considered deadly, Hillhouse said.
Gun Barrel City police called the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office called because of its new Crimes Against Children Task Force to help in the investigation.
Officials are waiting for the autopsy of the 6-year-old, which could take up to 12 weeks, Hillhouse said.
After the autopsy is complete, law enforcement will give the information to the Henderson County District Attorney's Office for a grand jury and potentially charge the mother.
“We ask that you keep the families of tragic incident in your prayers,” the GBPD said in a statement.