NYPD: 9-year-old boy falls 4 stories to his death in the Bronx
NEW YORK -- Police say a child was killed in a fall from the fourth floor of an apartment building in the Bronx on Sunday.
The community in the Mount Hope section of the borough is in mourning.
It was a devastating and difficult Sunday for a neighborhood that's full of families and young children. Neighbors expressed just how loved the child was. Some were in tears after witnessing the unthinkable tragedy of a boy, who police say was 9 years old, falling from the apartment window.
"I don't feel well. I have a grandson. I can't believe he's dead," witness Geraldo Montez said through a translator.
Police say just after 4 p.m. the boy, who loved ones said had autism, was standing on top of an air conditioning unit when the window shut behind him, causing him to lose balance and fall four stories down.
"I seen people screaming and calling 911," neighbor Joshua Rodriguez said.
Detectives at the scene say the boy's mother was in the bathroom when the child fell. He was rushed to Saint Barnabas Hospital, where he died. Neighbors shared that his adopted mother also cares for three other special needs children who were home at the time.
"She's an excellent mother," one neighbor said.
Neighbors said they didn't often see the child, but when they did they describe him as playful.
"He was a friendly kid," Rodriguez said. "It's crazy, a young age. Not good."
Neighbors continued just how good of a caretaker the boy's mother is. Police are investigating.