More information is emerging about Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s tragic passing.
Following the Cosby Show alum’s death at the age of 54 in an accidental drowning in Costa Rica, the local Red Cross confirmed in a statement obtained by NBC News there was a second man who received treatment at the scene.
The Costa Rican Red Cross received a report of a “water-related” incident, per the statement, on the beach of the Playa Grande resort at around 2:10 in the afternoon on July 20. Three ambulances were reportedly sent to the scene and “attended” to two adult male patients.
One of the patients was Warner, who was ultimately declared dead at the scene after receiving CPR. The other patient was taken to a local clinic in critical condition.
The statement continued, “The scene was left in the hands of the police authorities for the corresponding procedures."
According to the organization, the report they have on the incident says “two people were dragged by a water current at the beach” and that both patients were out of the water at the time the paramedics arrived.
The report matches information shared by Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Department, which likewise said Warner had been rescued from the ocean by people on the beach but that he was found without vital signs upon the arrival of the paramedics.
The Costa Rican national police subsequently confirmed to ABC News that the Resident alum’s official cause of death was asphyxia.
Following the news of Warner’s passing, a multitude of former colleagues and castmates expressed their grief—a testament to the actor’s decades of experience on the screen.
The rep for Warner’s former onscreen dad Bill Cosby confirmed to E! News the 88-year-old was as devastated to learn about Warner’s death as he was upon learning of his own son Ennis Cosby’s death in 1997.
Tracee Ellis Ross also paid tribute to her Reed Between the Lines costar.
“I love you, Malcolm,” the Black-ish alum wrote in a July 21 Instagram post alongside pictures with Warner. “First I met you as Theo with the rest of the world then you were my first TV husband. My heart is so so sad.”
She added, “What an actor and friend you were: warm, gentle, present, kind, thoughtful, deep, funny, elegant. You made the world a brighter place. Sending so much love to your family. I’m so sorry for this unimaginable loss.”
It was a sentiment echoed by another of Warner’s onscreen loves, Shaunette Renée Wilson, who played Dr. Mina Okafor on The Resident.
“Last week I had the impulse to text you for one of our lengthy heart check-ins,” she wrote on Instagram. “I truly wish I had so that one of the last words I had of you were of your wisdom, kindness, and that uncanny ability you had to be both unserious and profound within a single sentence.”
For a look back at Warner’s life and decades-spanning career, keep reading.
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