Boy, 13, happy to receive BMX bike from Coral Gables Police Department
MIAMI - It was a moment to remember for a 13-year-old boy who came to South Florida from Honduras nearly 2 years ago.
Douglas Flores, a 7th grader at Rockway Middle School in Westchester, received a special gift on Tuesday afternoon from the Coral Gables Police Department, a BMX bicycle he had always wanted.
The bicycle, which is worth more than $100, was an item that his mother was not able to afford.
CBS4 was inside the police department as Sgt. Alex Escobar and victim advocate Raiza Garcia gave Flores the bike, as his happy mother Helen Flores stood next to them.
CBS4'S Peter D'Oench spoke with Flores before he took his bicycle for a spin on the sidewalk outside the department.
Flores said, "I feel so thankful. I feel happy. It means so much. I asked for it for Christmas for the bicycle but she told me she couldn't buy it and I said that's OK, when you can buy it, you can surprise me with it. Now, I plan to ride it in the neighborhood and everything. Go to the park and everything."
He had a message for the Coral Gables police department. "I want to thank you so much," he said. "I appreciate it.
Sgt. Escobar said, "The city likes to give back to our residents and the community. Anytime we hear a need or a hardship we like to be out there as much as we can. It makes me feel good as well as from the Chief all the way down to the rest of the community. We like to do things like this when we can help out as much as possible."
Garcia said Douglas and his older brother came to this country in June of 2021 by themselves.
"He came in across the Mexican border," she said. "This is hard for me to fathom. He came along with his older brother at the time."
She said their aunt took care of them and a year after they got here, in June of last year, their mother was able to make it to South Florida and join them.
Asked about the gift, their mother said to Garcia, "I am very thankful with God and for my help."
Douglas said he was proud to be living in the U.S.
"I love Miami," he said. "I love the United States for giving me the opportunity to be here and the opportunity for my mother to be here. I am so thankful."
