Francisco Perera told his mother on Sunday that he was going to the park with a friend. In a tragic turn of events, the boys went to the river bank instead and drowned in the dangerously strong currents of the Raritan River.

The New Brunswick community is now rallying to support the families.

Fisherman Edward Stallings was nearby when he heard someone screaming from the Route 27 bridge as the body of 10-year-old Francisco was found. Soon after the body of Devine Nicholas, 11, was also found. Just last month, a teen from Elizabeth also drowned in the Raritan River in Bridgewater.