10-Year-Old Boy Found Drowned in Fremont High School’s Indoor Pool

A city lifeguard found the body of a 10-year-old boy Monday morning in the swimming pool at Fremont High School in South Los Angeles, authorities said.

Los Angeles Police Department investigators said James Sanders III of Los Angeles drowned, but they had not determined whether his death was an accident or a homicide.

Officers found evidence of a break-in and vandalism at the pool building offices, said Lucy Diaz, an LAPD spokeswoman.

Police said they did not know whether the boy had been responsible or whether he had been alone.

The indoor pool at the rear of the Fremont campus, in the 7600 block of San Pedro Street, is operated by the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department under an agreement that makes it available to students during the school day.

The boy’s aunt, Lyvonne Sanders, said James lived with his grandmother near the school.

She filed a missing-person report after he did not return from being out with friends Sunday afternoon.

“A lot of the family is just trying to find answers,” she said. “It’s a tragedy. He was a very active little boy. He reached out for a love a lot.”

Lyvonne Sanders said James had been taught how to swim by his older cousin and that he often swam at the Fremont pool.

He attended 68th Street Elementary School and wanted to be a professional basketball player, she said.