A 14-year-old who died last week after a wall collapsed on him and his friends at an Air Force base in Georgia has been identified, and his family says they’re seeking answers and an investigation into the incident.
Gabriel Stone, a teenager who lived in Warner Robins, Georgia, died at a Macon hospital on July 22 after being injured by a concrete wall in the men’s locker room at Robins Air Force Base‘s Heritage Club pool that collapsed on him, his brother and his friends.
His parents, Timberly and Camalle Stone, have retained Atlanta-based attorneys Rod Edmond — a physician and lawyer — and Shofaetiyah Watson of Edmond and Lindsay LLP to probe what led to the 14-year-old’s death.
“What they’re seeking right now is accountability, and that accountability comes, first, with answers. Answers to what happened,” Edmond told Military.com in an interview Tuesday. “When you have a situation where a dad takes his two young teenage kids and a couple of their friends to the post pool, and then a few minutes later, one of the kids is broken and has to be pulled from under cinder block rubble, that is traumatic.”
Stone was with three other kids, who were also injured when the wall collapsed. A family member of one of the other boys told Military.com last week that the other friends were experiencing “survivor’s guilt” from the incident.
Col. Deedrick Reese, the installation and 78th Air Base Wing commander, said in a statement last week following Stone’s death that “our hearts are broken for these individuals and their families,” adding “we remain committed to supporting our airmen and their loved ones as we navigate this difficult time for Team Robins.”
Linda Card, a spokesperson for the Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations, or OSI, told Military.com in an emailed statement Monday that Air Mobility Command’s wing safety office is “conducting an independent investigation to determine what caused the wall to collapse” and added that “OSI is currently monitoring this investigation.”
Stone’s dad is a former Marine who has access to the base’s facilities and took the group of kids to the pool, Edmond told Military.com. The friends had exited the pool as adult swim time began and were in the locker room hanging out when the wall collapsed.
The attorney and physician said the parents are struggling with the loss of their son.
“Obviously, they are in utter shock and bewilderment right now,” Edmond added. “They’re still stunned.”
He said the parents have relied on their faith to navigate the incident.
The attorney said they’re first seeking answers to what went wrong, and subsequent legal action seeking financial damages and liability is likely on the horizon. Edmond, himself a former Army captain, added he wants “to make sure that this situation doesn’t happen to anybody else” and raised concern about the safety of similar structures at other Department of Defense facilities across the country.
“It, quite frankly, was not plain and obvious to anybody, but clearly it was a tremendous danger to the public,” Edmond said. “Are there other facilities, similar facilities, for the same hazards to exist?”
Related: ‘Very Traumatic’: One Minor Killed, 3 Injured After Wall Collapses at Air Force Base Pool