Little boy accidentally hanged himself in a changing room

ryu-pena-little-boy-accidentally-hanged-changing-room-minnesota-denyce-gonzalez

by Emma Dodds |
Published on

Four-year-old Ryu Pena died after his hood got caught in a changing room

It's every parent's absolute worst nightmare.

You turn your back for just a few seconds in a shop and your child has run off somewhere - and thankfully, most of the time, they're just hiding in another aisle.

But the family of Ryu Pena had their worst fears realised after he was found accidentally hanging in the changing rooms of a thrift shop.

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Little Ryu accidentally hanged himself (Credit: Go Fund Me/ Jessica Cuevas) ©Go Fund Me/ Jessica Cuevas

The four-year-old had wandered into the changing rooms of Again Thrift & More in Mankato, Minnesota, USA, on his own whilst the family were out shopping at the weekend.

Although it's not yet clear what exactly happened, the little boy's jacket hood tragically snagged on a nearby wall-mounted hanger and he accidentally hanged.

Emergency services were called at around 5.40pm and rushed the little boy to a nearby hospital, but couldn't save him. He was pronounced dead.

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Ryu's mother, Denyce, has not posted on Facebook except to upload this photo of herself with her three children (Credit: Facebook/ Denyce Gonzalez) ©Facebook/ Denyce Gonzalez

Law enforcement officials confirmed that the little boy died of suffocation to KARE11, and Mankato Police Commander Daniel Schisel called Ryu's death "a tragic accident" to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Ryu lived with his mother, Denyce Gonzalez, his older sister Glory and his newborn baby brother, four-month-old Rolando Jr.

Denyce's sister-in-law, Jessica Cuevas, has now set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for the family's funeral costs.

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Denyce with Glory and Ryu (Credit: Facebook/ Denyce Gonzalez) ©Facebook/ Denyce Gonzalez

Jessica wrote on the page: "God gained another angel last night and the few short years he was here with us, he never failed to make our day.

"Ryu was such a sweet boy with a gorgeous smile, and a unique little personality. His best friend was his older sister Glory, he followed her around everywhere. He was so happy and full of life. He'd just become a big brother four months ago to Rolando Jr. whom he loved so much. He loved playing with cars and jumping off of things, he was such a mommy's boy.

"No mother or father should have to go through something like this and lose their child, so we are trying to raise enough money for his funeral.

"Ryu will have his funeral in Minnesota to be closer to his mother. The money raised will all go to his funeral and expenses, so we want to make sure the funeral is covered with flowers and all."

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Ryu had just become a big brother to Rolando Jr. (Credit: Facebook/ Jessica Cuevas) ©Facebook/ Jessica Cuevas

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