Sources To CBS2: Police Believe Baby Was Thrown To His Death From Queens Window
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Police late Friday had been questioning a Queens family all day, after a 3-week-old baby boy was found dead in the courtyard of an apartment building.
As CBS2's Scott Rapoport reported, investigators were trying to determine whether the infant was thrown from a window, and sources said police believe that is exactly what happened.
Police responding to a 911 call found little Rizwan Ahmad unconscious and unresponsive in the courtyard of 85-55 115th St., near Myrtle Avenue, in Richmond Hill around 4 a.m. Friday, the NYPD said.
The baby, who was wearing a onesie, was discovered on the ground. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Neighbors were aghast.
"Oh my God, that's horrible. That is terrible," one neighbor said.
The horrified neighbors told 1010 WINS' Mona Rivera that the infant was thrown out of a window of an apartment on the top floor of the four-story building, where he lived with his family.
Mazol Ilyayeva, 20, who lives two doors down from where the infant lived, said she heard a thud and then found the baby in the courtyard.
"I saw blood everywhere, and it's horrible," Ilyayeva said.
Shaken, she called 911.
"They told me to go back in there and do, like, do CPR," she said. "And I was like: 'I can't. I'm sorry.'"
Police late Friday were investigating the circumstances surrounding the death. Sources told CBS2 that the child was indeed believed to be thrown out the bathroom window and that he was alive when he was thrown, CBS2's Tracee Carrasco reported.
It was not believed that the baby was dropped accidentally, sources said.
Sources said the infant's father, Muhamed Ahmed; mother, Rashida Chowdhury; two other adults, and two children were in the apartment when it happened. All were taken here to the 102nd Precinct for questioning.
"I was just shocked," one woman said.
"It just sent a chill up my spine," said Marilyn Heller of Richmond Hill. "That's awful."
Police sources told CBS2 the infant does have some blunt impact injuries that can be consistent with a fall.
The New York City Medical Examiner's office will determine the cause of death.
"It's a tragedy and I hope it's an aberration and something that should never happen again," said Assemblyman David Weprin, who rushed to the scene after hearing what happened.
Sources said as of late Friday afternoon, none of the people who were in the apartment had made incriminating statements against each other during questioning.
The focus in the questioning was on the baby's father, sources said.
Sources also told CBS2 the infant was taken to the hospital just 10 days ago, but it was unclear why. Police late Friday were questioning the doctors who treated him.
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