Eight-year-old Cooper Davis is being called a hero after he rescued another boy from drowning in a hotel pool, reports WTVM.
On July 2, Cooper and his family, who live in Johns Creek, Ga., were vacationing just a few miles from Disneyland in Garden Grove, Calif., and spending time at their hotel's pool, when Cooper noticed another boy face down in the water at the bottom of the pool.
"I thought he was playing, so I took a breath and I heard another kid say, 'Help! Help! A kid's drowning,'" he told the TV station.
Cooper said he then dove down and latched on to the boy with one hand and pulled him up. "I was a little scared for a person that was my age, [who] couldn't swim and was drowning," he explained.
The third grader is a strong swimmer who has been on his neighborhood swim team for the last two years, and had been taking swimming lessons nearly his entire life.
Cooper said he flipped the boy over and brought him to the side of the pool where Cooper's father Jeff rushed over and began to perform CPR, but said was little unsure of what to do. According to ABC News after performing the first few breaths and compressions, he was joined by an unidentified Good Samaritan who also aided in CPR.
"We saw a little drizzle of water come out of his mouth and his eyes were still shut and it seemed like he was trying to breathe so we turned him on his side," Jeff Davis explained, adding that the paramedics arrived shortly after, and the boy was able to whimper his name.
Garden Grove Police rewarded Cooper for his bravery with a special coin that is given to those who have distinguished themselves in the community.
As is the case of a true hero, Cooper says that while he does like the attention, he's just glad the boy is OK.