2-year-old boy found alone and covered in flies in feces-filled Florida home

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. (TCD) -- Police arrested the 21-year-old parents of a 2-year-old boy on suspicion of child neglect over the weekend after they discovered the toddler was alone in their home.

According to a news release from the Fort Walton Beach Police Department, on April 22, officers responded to a report of a 2-year-old child left by himself in a home. From outside the residence, police noticed the child "slapping the window and appearing dirty with multiple flies on him."

Officers attempted but failed to make contact with anyone in the home. They eventually made their way inside, evaluated the child, and "immediately" called EMS to the scene. The 2-year-old child was transported to HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and was admitted for further treatment.

Inside the home, police observed "feces on the walls, mounds of soiled diapers, an extreme amount of insect activity, and the bedroom door of the room was locked from the outside."

Officials identified the parents as Tyler Piringer and Diamond Atkinson. They reportedly returned home from shopping around six hours after officers arrived, and they were taken into custody.

Piringer and Atkinson were booked into the Okaloosa County Jail on charges of aggravated child abuse and child neglect. The next day, April 23, they were both released on $10,000 bond.

MORE:

• Aggravated Child Abuse — Fort Walton Beach Police Department
• Okaloosa County Jail Records