A child was pulled from a pond at an apartment complex Thursday morning on Ja

A child pulled from a pond at an apartment complex Thursday morning on Jacksonville’s Westside was in “very critical condition” at the hospital, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said first responders were called to the Madelyn Oaks Apartments off Lenox Avenue around 9:45 a.m. when an alert resident spotted two young children playing in the retention pond.

The resident headed over to the children, and an officer arrived to find a toddler in the water, JSO Sgt. Robby Hinson said. The officer jumped in and pulled the child, who was about 2 years old, out of the pond and began CPR until paramedics arrived.

The child was taken to the hospital and was last listed in “very critical condition.”

“The officer appears to be fine. She went home to dry her equipment off and get a fresh change of clothes,” Hinson said. “But talking to her supervisor, she seems to be fine.”

Hinson said the other child with the toddler was about 3 years old. That child was not harmed. The genders of the children were not released.

He said the two had been in the care of an older teenage relative, and investigators with JSO and the Department of Children and Families are working to learn how the children were able to get to the pond while the teen was in the apartment.

They are interviewing the parents of the children.

Sky4 aerials showed crime scene tape surrounding the rear of a building at the apartment complex that backs up to the large pond, which is not fenced.

“Be cognizant of retention ponds,” Hinson warned. “If you have small children, put a lock up high on the door or get one of those plastic locks to prevent kids from opening a door handle.”