A 16-year-old male cheerleader is dead and five other individuals are injured after a house explosion in Louisiana on Saturday.
Firefighters responded to a report of a residential explosion in the 1100 block of Pullin Road in Ragley just before 10 a.m. on Aug. 31, said the Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal in a news alert.
According to the department, seven people were in this home at the time of the explosion. The five who were injured were “hospitalized in various stages of injury.”
“The final survivor, a toddler, is being cared for by relatives,” authorities added.
While the cause of the explosion remains under investigation, nearby residents told KPLC that it felt like an “earthquake” caused their electricity to go off and homes to shake. PEOPLE reached out to the Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal for comment.
A GoFundMe created for the residents identified the deceased teenager as Theodore High School cheerleader Deuce Barrere.
His mother, Katherine, and his older sister, Brooklyn, remain in the hospital in “stable but in critical condition,” reports WALA-TV.
A family member told the outlet that Katherine has severe burns “from the top of her head to her bottom,” while Brooklyn has “severe burns, several broken bones, and a busted liver and spleen.”
State Fire Marshal Chief Bryan J. Adams described the incident as “an unimaginable tragedy for this family and community.”
“This investigation is still very much active, but we have a top-notch team working diligently to get as many answers for this family as possible,” he said in a statement.
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According to WALA-TV, some of Deuce’s classmates gathered on Dauphin Island on Sunday, Sept. 1, evening to pay tribute to him.
“I will say- he was probably the best person I’ve ever had in my life. He really showed me what a best friend can truly mean to you. He never once made me feel- I don’t mean to get deep- but he made sure I stayed here, if we’re really going to be honest,” his best friend, Jaedin Wilson, told the outlet.
“The way he was, the personality he had, he made sure that I stayed down, that I was good, and that I always had a home and I really respect him for that,” he added.
Deuce’s girlfriend, Adalynn Hall, told the news station there was a “never a dull moment” with him.
“When I was upset, he always made sure it was good before I left, and he always made sure everybody here was happy and he loved cheer and I feel so bad that he couldn’t go to Springhill to cheer,” she said. “That really breaks my heart and he just loved everybody so much, and he made sure everybody knew he loved them.”
