A New York City preschool was shut down earlier this week after a toddler died from eating a grilled cheese sandwich. The child’s family is demanding answers and says the school was well aware of—and even previously documented—his severe allergy to dairy.
Three-year-old Elijah Silvera went into anaphylactic shock on Nov. 3 after being fed the sandwich at the Seventh Avenue Center for Family Services in Harlem. He eventually died at Harlem Hospital, according to the New York Daily News.
“There is nothing more important than the safety of our children and we are deeply saddened by this tragedy,” said NYC’s Health Department spokesman Christopher Miller. The Health Department shut down the facility Wednesday, citing multiple failures on the preschool’s part.
“We will get to the bottom of what happened here. In the meantime, we’re closing the Center for Family Services and continuing to aggressively investigate what happened and whether the facility could have done something differently to prevent this tragedy,” he added
Elijah’s family has already surpassed its $18,000 GoFundMe fundraiser goal, but donations continue to pour in from thousands hoping to help ease their burden.