Police said investigators found a water-filled basin and standing water inside the home.
PHILADELPHIA, PA — A 1-year-old girl died Thursday night after she was found unresponsive inside a home in Philadelphia’s Kensington section, where police said they are investigating the death as a possible drowning.
Medics were called about 7 p.m. Thursday to the 1800 block of East Somerset Street. The child was taken to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, where she was pronounced dead at 7:49 p.m. Police said the Special Victims Unit is handling the investigation, and no cause of death had been formally released as of Friday.
Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said officers found a basin filled with water in a second-floor bathroom while checking the home after the child was taken to the hospital. Small said investigators also found water covering much of the first-floor dining room area. “We’re not really certain what happened at this time,” Small said. “So it appears to be a possible drowning. Our Special Victims Unit is going to conduct an investigation.”
Police did not release the child’s name or say who was inside the home when medics arrived. Authorities also did not say how long the girl may have been unresponsive before emergency crews were called. The home is on a residential block in Kensington, a North Philadelphia neighborhood with tightly spaced rowhouses and busy nearby corridors. Investigators have not announced whether any adults were being questioned, and no charges had been filed.
Small said police were seeking a search warrant to process the property, a step he described as standard procedure in the investigation. That process is expected to allow detectives to document the bathroom, dining room and other areas of the house, collect possible evidence and compare the scene with witness statements. The Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office would typically determine the cause and manner of death after reviewing medical findings and investigative records.
The case remained in an early stage Friday. Police described the death as a possible drowning, not a confirmed drowning, and said the circumstances were still under investigation. Detectives were expected to review how water came to be in multiple parts of the home, where the child was found, who last saw her before medics arrived and whether any other conditions inside the property may have played a role.
The response drew police and emergency crews to East Somerset Street on Thursday evening as neighbors and passersby watched investigators work. The child was taken from the home to St. Christopher’s, a major children’s hospital in North Philadelphia, but doctors could not save her. Small said the investigation would continue through the Special Victims Unit, which handles sensitive cases involving children and vulnerable victims.
As of Friday, police had not announced an arrest, a final cause of death or a full timeline of the child’s final hours. The next major step is the completion of the scene investigation and any medical examiner’s findings.
Author note: Last updated June 12, 2026.