LONDON—A teenager was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder on Aug. 4 after a 6-year-old child was thrown from the 10th floor viewing platform at London’s Tate Modern art gallery, police said.
The Metropolitan Police said officers and paramedics found the injured child on a fifth-floor roof of the Tate. He was taken by air ambulance to a local hospital, where he was listed in critical condition, police reported in a statement.
“A 17-year-old male had remained with members of the public on the 10th floor viewing platform,” the statement said. “There is nothing to suggest that he is known to the victim.”
The outdoor viewing area and a rooftop bar sit atop the Tate Modern, which is Britain’s national gallery of international modern art. Visitors to the open terrace get free panoramic views of the British capital.
Officers were called to the gallery around 2:40 p.m. local time and were seen closing entrances as emergency services dealt with the incident.
#Tatemodern Security says the child was taken to the hospital by this helicopter-after falling down from height.I saw a woman running to the balcony on 10floor&crying around 2:45pm,then all visitors got locked in the building till around 4:08pm. Hope the child will get well! pic.twitter.com/WQlPQjCp67
— Olga Malchevska (@Yollika) August 4, 2019
Witness Nancy Barnfield told Britain’s Press Association that she saw a woman screaming, “Where’s my son, where’s my son” as people surrounded a man.
“We did not notice the mom before, we noticed her after because she was hysterical by then,” Barnfield said.
The Tate later turned away visitors for the rest of the day.
A spokeswoman for the gallery said: “Tate is working closely with the police to help with their investigations.”
Located on the south side of the River Thames, the Tate was the U.K.’s most popular tourist attraction in 2018 with 5.9 million visits, according to the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions.
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 this 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.
