Child who was pronounced dead was found alive in morgue just hours later as police release details

An 18-month-old boy who was pronounced dead by a doctor at an Arizona hospital was discovered breathing almost six hours later inside the same hospital's morgue, according to shocking new report.

Vincent Lorenzo Fiordilino was declared dead at 6:20pm on Super Bowl Sunday after nearly drowning in his family's swimming pool, only for staff to find him gasping for air in the morgue's "cold room" at 11:52pm that same night.

The bizarre and disturbing sequence of events, which unfolded at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center in Gilbert, Arizona, is now the subject of an active investigation by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, with police recommending the toddler's parents be charged with child abuse.

"The child ultimately survived and has been released from the hospital," the Gilbert Police Department confirmed in a statement, though the force has raised serious questions over the circumstances that led to the near-drowning in the first place.

According to a police report obtained by NBC affiliate KPNX, investigators believe the parents may not have noticed their son wander off towards the pool while they were distracted watching the Super Bowl, with the report suggesting both had been under the influence of "marijuana and/or other mind altering substances" at the time.

"Both admitted to smoking marijuana the morning of the drowning," the report reportedly states.

A GoFundMe page set up by the family states Vincent is now breathing with the help of a ventilator and has been dubbed "the miracle baby" by medical staff(GoFundMe)

What did the doctor say before declaring the toddler dead?

Per the report obtained by KPNX, the doctor who made the call to pronounce Vincent dead, named in the police report as A. Toosi, allegedly pushed back when a police officer at the scene questioned his decision while the child was still appearing to gasp for breath.

"Please do your thing and let me do my thing," Toosi is quoted as telling the officer. "I went to medical school for a reason."

The report states that at 6:13pm, Toosi was seen checking his phone before stepping out to break the news to Vincent's parents, before returning to the emergency room and calling time of death at 6:20pm, requesting a moment of silence.

Despite this, both the boy's parents and police officers present in the room said the child still appeared to be gasping for air after being declared dead, with a detective reportedly hearing 'another audible gasp' as staff prepared to move him to the morgue.

A doctor named Aryan Toosi, affiliated with the hospital, referred NBC News to lawyer Scott Holden for comment, who said there was "much more to this case, both factually and medically, than has been reported thus far."

Vincent was airlifted to Phoenix Children's Hospital once his heartbeat was detected, where he was later found to have avoided any serious, lasting brain damage despite doctors initially fearing the worst for his recovery.(Creative Commons/Wikipedia)

Is baby Vincent recovering after the incident?

Vincent was airlifted to Phoenix Children's Hospital once his heartbeat was detected, where he was later found to have avoided any serious, lasting brain damage despite doctors initially fearing the worst for his recovery.

A GoFundMe page set up by the family states Vincent is now breathing with the help of a ventilator and has been dubbed "the miracle baby" by medical staff amazed by his fighting spirit, though he'll require extensive ongoing therapy and monitoring.

As per KPNX - Mercy Gilbert Medical Center has confirmed it carried out its own internal investigation into the "heartbreaking situation," but has declined to reveal its findings or say whether Toosi remains on staff at the hospital.

UNILAD has contacted Mercy Gilbert Medical Center and Maricopa County Attorney's Office for comment.