Bellingham boy flown to Seattle after apparent accident on rope swing

A Bellingham boy suffered critical injuries this weekend in an apparent accident on a rope swing.

The child’s mother reported finding the boy, 12, hanged by a rope swing around 4 p.m. Saturday outside their home in the 3200 Edwards Street in the Whatcom Falls neighborhood. He was motionless, and firefighters performed CPR until they found a pulse again, said Bellingham Police Sgt. Dave Johnson.

Firefighters rushed the boy from the scene in an ambulance. He was later flown to Seattle Children’s Hospital. A hospital spokeswoman had not confirmed his condition as of Monday evening.

In an email to parents Monday, Kulshan Middle School identified the child as Benny Capp, a seventh-grade student at the school.

“It’s been a difficult morning for many of our students and staff,” wrote the middle school principal, Meagan Dawson. “We shared this news with students in their classrooms this morning, and we’ve had the District Mobile Response Team at Kulshan today to provide extra counseling for anyone who wanted to talk.”

Parents can call the school at 360-676-4886, if their child needs support or counseling.

Detectives will continue to investigate what happened. Officers believe Capp had been playing outside alone.

“There’s nothing right now to indicate it’s anything other than accidental,” Johnson said.

This story was originally published May 1, 2017 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Bellingham boy flown to Seattle after apparent accident on rope swing."