A 21-year-old man tragically drowned while saving a teenage girl from his church group at Lake Waxahachie, Texas, just an hour after being baptized.
According to CNN, Lincer Lopez, along with members of his church from Garland, Texas, had travelled to Lake Waxahachie on Saturday afternoon for a baptism ceremony.
The group had just completed the baptisms and was enjoying the lake when a teenage girl from their group began struggling in the water. Without hesitation, Lopez rushed to her aid.
According to police reports, Lopez drowned while attempting to rescue the teenage girl. Jacob Bell, a bystander on a boat, witnessed the incident and immediately jumped into action.
Bell successfully pulled the teenage girl out of the water and performed CPR, saving her life. He then helped recover Lopez’s body.
Bell reflected on the tragedy, saying, “It hasn’t really sunk in yet. It’s hard.” Having lost his own brother to drowning at a young age, Bell said he feels a deep sympathy for Lopez’s family.
“He was a hero. He had just given his life to the Lord through baptism and then gave his life to save someone else. His family should be very proud,” Bell added.
Lincer Lopez’s uncle, Jacobo Lopez, spoke about his nephew’s selflessness. “He didn’t think twice about rescuing someone else,” he said. “He didn’t think about the risk to his own life. He just acted.”
Jacobo recalled how excited Lincer had been about his baptism, noting that he had been too excited to sleep the night before. Lincer worked hard in construction to support his siblings in Mexico, sending money home regularly.
His uncle believes Lincer’s story will inspire others to serve others and their faith. “If they can help, like my nephew did,” he said in Spanish.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help Lincer Lopez’s family with the expenses needed to return his body to his parents in Mexico.
