ALTON, Ill. — It was a terrifying time for an Alton mom.
"She came outside screaming for help," said next-door neighbor Mariah Hebert.
Just after 7 Monday night, a fast-moving fire engulfed the woman's apartment on Mitchell Street, trapping her 5-year-old son, Malachi Scruggs, inside.
"It was really sad. I was just crying," said Ron Moppins.
Moppins was visiting his family at the complex when he heard the commotion.
"I saw the flashing lights from the police cars, ran outside and I told the firefighters, please, get the baby," recalled Moppins.
"And all you head were people screaming, yelling, trying to run up and down those stairs," said Mariah Hebert.
Neighbor after neighbor said they dashed inside the burning apartment, hoping to find the child.
Firefighters arrived and saw thick, black smoke coming from an upper-floor, rear bedroom.
Neighbors also said Malachi's mom kept trying to rescue her son.
"I saw her running in the apartment and at one point, she fell down the stairs," said Ron Moppins.
Firefighters finally put out the fire and found the 5-year-old.
Paramedics rushed Malachi Scruggs to a hospital, but sadly he died three days before Thanksgiving.
"It's very especially with it being right around the holidays. It's traumatizing. The whole community, everybody was out there trying to run inside and get the baby, but the smoke, it was just so bad. We couldn't get up there," said Mariah Hebert.
A bouquet of yellow flowers is now left outside the family's front door.
"I hope they will be alright, the mom and the daddy," said Ron Moppins.
"I hope they find comfort because losing a child, that's unbearable," said Mariah Hebert.
In a statement, Alton Police Chief Marcos Pulido expressed condolences to the family on behalf of emergency responders and investigators.
The Illinois Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause of the fire.
An autopsy will also be performed on the 5-year-old child.