LONDON—A youth court in London ordered a teenager held on an attempted murder charge on Tuesday, Aug. 6, for allegedly throwing a 6-year-old boy from a viewing area at the top of the British capital’s Tate Modern museum.
The French boy was only a short distance from his parents Sunday when he was picked up and thrown over the railing of the museum’s 10th-floor observation deck, an action “carried out extremely swiftly and in one movement,” prosecutor Sian Morgan said.
Witnesses have described hearing the boy’s mother screaming, and London’s Metropolitan Police service said other museum visitors stopped a 17-year-old British citizen from leaving until officers arrived.
The older and younger boy had no prior connection, the police department says.
Detective Chief Superintendent John Massey said investigators were treating the “truly shocking incident” as an isolated event “with no distinct or apparent motive.”
The 6-year-old remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition with a sustained brain bleed and fractures to his spine, legs and arms, prosecutors said.
The public viewing area encircles the top level of a 2016 addition to the Tate Modern that is 64.5 meters (211 feet) in height. Police and paramedics found the victim on a roof five stories below.
During a Tuesday hearing at Bromley Youth Court in south London, the suspect spoke only to confirm his name, address, date of birth and nationality. He cannot be identified publicly because of his age.
The teen is scheduled to appear at London’s Central Criminal Court on Thursday.
Tate Modern, Britain’s leading gallery of modern art, sits on the south bank of the River Thames and was visited by almost 6 million people last year.
Boy Thrown From Balcony at Mall of America Now Out of Intensive Care
In news related to tragic falls, the 5-year-old boy who was hurled from a third-floor balcony at the Mall of America on April 12 has exited intensive care, his family said in an update.
Landen Hoffman, the boy, was thrown from the balcony by Emmanuel Aranda, who told police officers he went to the mall that day looking for someone to murder.
Aranda, 24, pleaded guilty in May and was sentenced to 19 years in prison on June 3.
In an update last week, Landen’s family said the boy has been moved out of intensive care.
PRAYERS FOR LANDEN: The parents of a 5-year-old Landen Hoffman, who was thrown from a third-floor balcony at the Mall of America in April, said Tuesday that their son remains in intensive care due to severe complications from the attack. https://t.co/zcdJgILOxW
— Eyewitness News WTVO/WQRF (@MyStateline) June 26, 2019
“The Lord is good, and we are thankful. We are happy to report that our son is no longer in intensive care and has been moved to an inpatient, physical rehab program at another hospital to help him continue to heal and focus on the next phase of his recovery,” the family said in a statement, which was shared by a friend on a GoFundMe fundraising page on Aug. 1.
“There is hard work ahead! And, our beautiful boy has endured much already, but he is strong and his spirit remains vibrant,” the family added. “We continue to be eternally grateful for every prayer, every act of kindness and the love this world has show[n] us throughout this journey. Thank You.”
NTD reporter Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
