Atlanta teen dies a hero trying to save 4 children from drowning in Florida waters....

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A 16-year-old Atlanta boy is being hailed as a hero after he drowned while trying to help save four children from strong currents off the Florida Panhandle.

Bryce Brooks and his family were vacationing in Pensacola with other families whose kids grew up together, according to Bryce’s stepfather, Shivy Brooks, who spoke at a news conference in Atlanta on Monday.

The group was in Perdido Key when currents began pulling four younger kids away from the beach on April 6. Bryce sprung into action, running with two others to help the children, Brooks said.

"Being selfless, our son Bryce, while being pulled by currents himself, literally called for help. But not for himself, he was calling out for the little kids he was looking out for,” Shivy said.

And then Bryce was pulled under the water.

A family friend named Charles “Chuck” Johnson II went in the water to help Bryce but was also pulled under. Both of them drowned.

“We’re never going to get to see Bryce grow up to be the full man that he was going to be," Bryce's mom, Crystal Brooks, said. "But we know that he stepped into his manhood to save those children. And that makes me proud."

She said nothing will take away even an ounce of her pain "but it makes me proud of our son and what he sacrificed."

"And I’ll forever hold that,” she said.

An education group called Get Your Teach on began a fundraiser for the Brooks family. It had raised more than $83,000 as of Wednesday.

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