6 year old boy thrown from 10th floor of Tate Modern

[Scarlett.]

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/5E0E/production/_108187042_mediaitem108187038.jpg

A six-year-old boy was thrown five floors from the 10th floor of the Tate Modern art gallery in central London, police said.

He landed on a fifth floor roof and was taken to hospital by air ambulance after he fell at about 14:45 BST on Sunday.

The boy's condition is described as critical.

A 17-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, the Met Police said.

They said the six-year-old was thrown from a viewing platform.

"We treated a person at the scene and took them to hospital as a priority," a London Ambulance Service (LAS) spokesman said.

A police spokesman said there was "nothing to suggest [the suspect] is known to the victim".

The teenager had remained on the platform after the boy fell, police said.

Visitors were initially locked inside the gallery at Bankside on the South Bank.

'Where's my son?'

Admin worker Nancy Barnfield, 47, of Rochdale, was at the 10th floor viewing gallery with a friend and their children when her friend heard a "loud bang".

Ms Barnfield said she turned around and saw a woman screaming: "Where's my son, where's my son?"

Members of the public quickly gathered around a man who was nearby, she said.

Ms Barnfield said: "We did not notice the mum before, we noticed her after because she was hysterical by then."

She said the person who was restrained by members of the public before the police arrived "just stood there and was quite calm".

Olga Malchevska, who was also on the 10th floor, said she heard a scream and then headed to the exit with her child.

"Some people started panicking. We got to the packed lift. People there were saying that one boy threw another one from the balcony. We were all shocked."

Stuart Haggas said he saw emergency crews moving along the roof between the gallery's Turbine Hall and its recent extension.

"They were carrying a stretcher with someone on it, plus a second stretcher was waiting by the door," he said.

BBC correspondent Jonny Dymond, who was also there, said visitors were "funnelled towards the main Turbine Hall and the exits were all closed".

"There were quite a lot of families with children, and security guards told us we couldn't leave," he said.

"There were at least two fire engines, 10 police cars and an incident control unit. Parts of the exterior of the building were taped off."

The Tate Modern opened in the disused power station on the River Thames in 2000.

It was the UK's most popular tourist attraction in 2018 with 5.9 million visitors, according to the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions.

BBC News (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-49230308)

What the ****

[arista]

shocking

[Ammi]

...completely horrendous...the little guy’s condition is critical, I can’t imagine what the family is going through right now...

[DouglasS]

That’s made me feel ill. Evil.

[LaLaLand]

Unbelievable. Jesus Christ!

[arista]

https://storify.com/services/proxy/2/fGXHHsXh2N7ifx5Mhh9JVg/https/media.fyre.co/iEB9MkImSVm9K89Aa0b0_Metro.JPG


https://storify.com/services/proxy/2/VTghcKGdGSUjzzYXrQhTmQ/https/media.fyre.co/95rmL7JSDa4NZWdJJF6b_Daily%20Mail.JPG

[bots]

Every day I lose more faith in humanity

[Marsh.]

D:

:worry:

Here's hoping for a speedy recovery.

[Rob!]

Jesus Christ. I’ve been there recently and that drop is huge, in fact I’m amazed he’s even still alive.
What kind of evil person does that to a small child...?

[Alf]

I think something similar happened fairly recently in America, I think at a shopping mall.

[Twosugars]

On the news a woman who was there said the guy acted weird and followed her and her children for a while before it happened

[Ant.]

Sickening. I hope the boy recovers fast and well, 5 floors is very high, it's a miracle he's alive <3

[Mystic Mock]

Tbh I'm amazed that the child is still alive.

Hopefully the child pulls through and that the teenager actually gets punished.

[AnnieK]

Absolutely horrific, I hope the child recovers. His family must be besides themselves.

The person who threw him over sounds either very mentally ill or plain evil as he stood by calmly afterwards.

Scary world

[arista]

Tbh I'm amazed that the child is still alive.

Hopefully the child pulls through and that the teenager actually gets punished.

He landed on the Side building
not the pavement.

[Ammi]

...I’ve just read that he’s still critical but stable...

[Cherie]

poor little chap, hope he pulls through

[Vicky.]

****ing hell..hope he recovers, but you would think that height would have killed him instantly really :o

[Kizzy]

Poor kid :( what a totally bizarre situation.

[Kazanne]

Its sad the depth some humans can sink to . Bless this little man ,I hope he recovers and without permanent damage .

[Cherie]

He is no longer critical

[Kizzy]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/tate-modern-london-boy-thrown-10th-floor-window-latest-condition-hospital-police-a9039556.html%3famp

[Ammi]

The teen suspect arrested after a six-year-old boy was thrown from the Tate Modern 10th floor blamed social services for his alleged actions, a witness has claimed...


https://uk.news.yahoo.com/teenager-accused-of-throwing-6-yrold-off-tate-viewing-platform-said-it-was-the-fault-of-social-services-101025939.html

[Cherie]

The teen suspect arrested after a six-year-old boy was thrown from the Tate Modern 10th floor blamed social services for his alleged actions, a witness has claimed...


https://uk.news.yahoo.com/teenager-accused-of-throwing-6-yrold-off-tate-viewing-platform-said-it-was-the-fault-of-social-services-101025939.html

The report that the boy was ripped from his mothers arms are false I would say?

[Tom4784]

A bizarre and unsettling attack. I'm glad the boy seems to be stable and I hope he doesn't have any permanent injuries as a result of this.

I assume there was no real motive for the attack if the attacker wasn't known to the victim or his mother and given how calm he was reported to be, I'd assume that this is a case of a psychopath of some sort lashing out. I'll be interested to know more and I hope that justice is swift.

[bots]

Keeping my fingers crossed for the lad, but that's going to be a hell of a thing to recover from physically and mentally

[arista]

The 6 year old boy in Hospital
is a French Tourist

Ch4HDnews just reported it.

[Ammi]

...I hope with all of my heart that he’s going to be okay...

[Jake.]

That’s kinda insane that he’s survived it? Hopefully he has a speedy recovery

[Tom4784]

The 6 year old boy in Hospital
is a French Tourist

Ch4HDnews just reported it.

It does make me think it's some sort of Britain first/Brexit thing then. An extremist heard an accent they didn't like and acted out against them?

[Tony Montana]

Jesus, that's horrific. It's a miracle he's alive.

Hope he makes a speedy recovery.

[bots]

It does make me think it's some sort of Britain first/Brexit thing then. An extremist heard an accent they didn't like and acted out against them?

in London in the summer? that's a bit of a stretch, the city is full of tourists

[Cherie]

It does make me think it's some sort of Britain first/Brexit thing then. An extremist heard an accent they didn't like and acted out against them?

No way, he was following an English family before that, I would imagine he had voices in his head or something :shrug: its tragic for them both

[thesheriff443]

It does make me think it's some sort of Britain first/Brexit thing then. An extremist heard an accent they didn't like and acted out against them?

He was saying it’s social services fault.

[thesheriff443]

Also random people get pushed in front of tube trains by strangers.

[AnnieK]

It does make me think it's some sort of Britain first/Brexit thing then. An extremist heard an accent they didn't like and acted out against them?

I think this was more likely to be a very sick and/or evil individual but I suppose we will find out reasons in the fullness of time.

Whatever the reason, its a horrifically awful situation and my thoughts are with the family

[thesheriff443]

The teenager is a mental patient who slipped away from his minders/carers

[Jigs]

this honestly gagged me. What possesses someone to attack an innocent stranger? Then you take into account that the poor boy is 6 years old and he's going to have to deal with this for the rest of his life, if he's even lucky enough to make a full recovery.

[Kazanne]

He was saying it’s social services fault.

This is correct it has been online this morning,he blamed social services,Why cant people take responsibility for their own heinous actions instead of trying to blame other people:shrug: I hope he gets a suitable punishment.perhaps he needed help and never got it.

[arista]

It does make me think it's some sort of Britain first/Brexit thing then. An extremist heard an accent they didn't like and acted out against them?




Yes could be,
sadly.

The 17 year old can not be named

[Livia]

The teenager is a mental patient who slipped away from his minders/carers

I wondered if it would be that. Another example of "care in the community".

[Amy Jade]

I really hope this doesn't encourage people to avoid mentally Ill people, this was a one off and of course incredibly sad but a vast majority of carers out with their patient pose no risk to the public.

[Livia]

I really hope this doesn't encourage people to avoid mentally I'll people, this was a one off and of course incredibly sad but a vast majority of carers out with their patient pose no risk to the public.

I agree AJ. The lad who did thing terrible thing, well I don't believe that kind of violence comes from nowhere. There must have been indicators that he was liable to violence, taking him to the Tate, then the carers losing track of him... appalling, and now a little child has gone through the most terrible, terrifying event and is lucky to be alive. And yes, I do hope it doesn't have any impact on people out with carers, the vast majority are completely harmless.

[bots]

I would prefer to wait and hear what comes out in court. There must be lessons to be learnt from this. The government has a duty to keep our streets safe for our families

[Kazanne]

On a lighter note the boy is now stable and not critical , so a bit of good news.

[user104658]

I agree AJ. The lad who did thing terrible thing, well I don't believe that kind of violence comes from nowhere. There must have been indicators that he was liable to violence, taking him to the Tate, then the carers losing track of him... appalling, and now a little child has gone through the most terrible, terrifying event and is lucky to be alive. And yes, I do hope it doesn't have any impact on people out with carers, the vast majority are completely harmless.

A large part of the problem comes down to funding as usual, community care tends to be a minimum wage (or near minimum wage) position with very few (if any) qualifications required and not much training. Of course the majority of carers still do a great job the majority of the time but there are always going to be problems when there are people freshly hired, navigating situations that really require a lot of experience, training and diligence.

I have to wonder if when he "blamed social services" he was basically saying that he's not in control and isn't supposed to be unsupervised, referring to his carers as "social services".

[Livia]

I would prefer to wait and hear what comes out in court. There must be lessons to be learnt from this. The government has a duty to keep our streets safe for our families

You're right of course, it's all conjecture at the moment.

On a lighter note the boy is now stable and not critical , so a bit of good news.

Yes, that is good news, the poor little sod.

[Livia]

A large part of the problem comes down to funding as usual, community care tends to be a minimum wage (or near minimum wage) position with very few (if any) qualifications required and not much training. Of course the majority of carers still do a great job the majority of the time but there are always going to be problems when there are people freshly hired, navigating situations that really require a lot of experience, training and diligence.

I have to wonder if when he "blamed social services" he was basically saying that he's not in control and isn't supposed to be unsupervised, referring to his carers as "social services".

I'm not really critical of social services, they do an amazing job on very little. I admire people who can do the job of carer, I certainly couldn't but I'm grateful there are people who can. My problem is that dangerous people should not be on the street, and there have been countless incidents where someone has come off their meds and slaughtered someone innocent. Like Bots said though, none of us really knows what happened. I just feel so sorry for the little boy, what a terrible, harrowing experience to go through... and his poor Mum....

[Vicky.]

I'm not really critical of social services, they do an amazing job on very little. I admire people who can do the job of carer, I certainly couldn't but I'm grateful there are people who can. My problem is that dangerous people should not be on the street, and there have been countless incidents where someone has come off their meds and slaughtered someone innocent. Like Bots said though, none of us really knows what happened. I just feel so sorry for the little boy, what a terrible, harrowing experience to go through... and his poor Mum....

Yup, indeed.
I really do not see a solution though, short of monitoring those on anti depressants and such 24 hours a day to make sure they take their meds..maybe getting everyone to go to chemist daily to physically take them infront of someone..then those who didnt get a check, but thats not really doable in the slightest..especially given its a really really high amount of people in this country on such meds... Or going back to locking people with mental health issues up in asylums and such..which is obviously wrong. So while I agree that these people who commit such crimes should not be on the street to do it, I don't see an answer either :( I wish I did.

[Kizzy]

If the boy ...and at 17 he's still a boy, is a psychopath and to do this it looks likely then he would have been able to appear perfectly normal to get outside...imo

[arista]

The 17 year old appeared in court
this morning,
He is next in Court at the Old Bailey.
Held under arrest.

[Ammi]

The six-year-old boy who was allegedly thrown from a viewing platform at Tate Modern has suffered brain injuries, broken arms and legs, and a fractured spine, a court heard today.

The youngster, a French national who was visiting London with his family, plunged around 100ft in the horror fall on Sunday afternoon while visiting the world-famous gallery with his parents.

Prosecutor Sian Morgan told the court the boy survived the fall after landing on a fifth floor roof, but has suffered a “deep bleed to the brain”.

“He suffered very serious injuries and is currently in hospital”, she said. “He has injuries to his brain, and fractures to his spine, legs and arms”.


https://uk.news.yahoo.com/tate-modern-victim-6-suffered-093100824.html

[bots]

heartbreaking

[Niamh.]

poor kid, who is the 17 year old, have they said? Like is he related to the boy or was it a random attack?

[AnnieK]

poor kid, who is the 17 year old, have they said? Like is he related to the boy or was it a random attack?

He is not related and sounds a random attack. He has mental health issues and gave his carers the slip from what has been reported

[arista]

poor kid, who is the 17 year old, have they said? Like is he related to the boy or was it a random attack?


Random attack
The 17 year old can not be named but is British.


The 6 year is a French Tourist
in hospital , but now stable

[AnnieK]

The six-year-old boy who was allegedly thrown from a viewing platform at Tate Modern has suffered brain injuries, broken arms and legs, and a fractured spine, a court heard today.

The youngster, a French national who was visiting London with his family, plunged around 100ft in the horror fall on Sunday afternoon while visiting the world-famous gallery with his parents.

Prosecutor Sian Morgan told the court the boy survived the fall after landing on a fifth floor roof, but has suffered a “deep bleed to the brain”.

“He suffered very serious injuries and is currently in hospital”, she said. “He has injuries to his brain, and fractures to his spine, legs and arms”.


https://uk.news.yahoo.com/tate-modern-victim-6-suffered-093100824.html

Poor lamb. Its the brain and spinal injuries that are the most worrying I guess. Keeping everything crossed, can only hope he doesn't remember what happened as that will be a massive hurdle to get over on top of his physical injuries.

[arista]

He is not related and sounds a random attack. He has mental health issues and gave his carers the slip from what has been reported



That's Terrible.

[Ammi]

poor kid, who is the 17 year old, have they said? Like is he related to the boy or was it a random attack?

..it was random..the boy is a French tourist and the 17yr old had some type of mental disability../illness and was out for the day with careers...but managed to free himself of them for some moments...witnesses have said that he cited social services after the incident or while it was occurring...

[Ammi]

...what his family’s world is right now...and the shootings in America...it puts the world into perspective...

[Alf]

By the age of 27, that animal is likely to be walking the streets again, maybe sooner.

I'd lock him up for the rest of his life, personally.

[AnnieK]

...what his family’s world is right now...and the shootings in America...it puts the world into perspective...

Absolutely....it really makes you think :sad:

[Niamh.]

He is not related and sounds a random attack. He has mental health issues and gave his carers the slip from what has been reported

Random attack
The 17 year old can not be named but is British.


The 6 year is a French Tourist
in hospital , but now stable

..it was random..the boy is a French tourist and the 17yr old had some type of mental disability../illness and was out for the day with careers...but managed to free himself of them for some moments...witnesses have said that he cited social services after the incident or while it was occurring...

Thanks, that's scary. Brain injury is the most worrying I guess, I really hope he's ok, poor kid and his poor parents

[Ammi]

Teenager who threw boy 100ft off Tate Modern viewing platform pleads guilty to attempted murder...


A teenager who threw a six-year-old boy from a viewing platform at the Tate Modern art gallery in London has pleaded guilty to attempted murder.

Jonty Bravery, 18, entered his plea during a hearing at the Old Bailey in London on Friday.

Speaking via video link from custody, he was asked how he pleaded to the charge of attempted murder and replied: “I plead guilty. Guilty, yeah correct.”

The teenager, who has autistic spectrum disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and was likely to have a personality disorder, has been held at Broadmoor Hospital since mid-October.

He is remanded in custody ahead of his sentencing hearing at a later date.

Bravery, of west London, was arrested after the incident on the 10th storey balcony of the tourist attraction on Sunday, August 4.

The victim, who miraculously survived the fall, cannot be named due to his age.

He is continuing to recover slowly at home in France after spending several months in intensive care.

Commenting on the case, CPS prosecutor Emma Jones said: “This devastating and shocking incident at the Tate Modern on 4 August of this year changed the lives of Bravery’s young victim and his family forever.

“The boy was singled out by Bravery, who threw him from the viewing platform intending to kill him. That he survived the five-storey fall was extraordinary.

“Eye witness accounts and CCTV footage, along with Bravery’s admissions at the time of the arrest that his actions were pre-planned, meant he had little choice but to accept responsibility for his actions.

“There will be no trial as a result, and the boy’s family are spared having to relive this traumatic experience in court.

[bots]

The best news is that the little lad is recovering

[Kizzy]

So happy he's on the mend what a little fighter :)

[Zizu]

The attacker’s surname is Bravery ...
you couldn’t make it up :(


He needs to be locked up permanently ( at least ) and hopefully the authorities don’t make another momentous cock up and let him out early in error ..like they did with this sicko

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10489432/joseph-mccann-guilty-rape-abduction/

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[arista]

https://news.sky.com/story/jonty-bravery-teenager-who-threw-boy-100ft-from-tate-modern-platform-jailed-for-15-years-12015142

He got 15 years

[arista]

So happy he's on the mend what a little fighter :)


Sadly now that French young child
is in a wheelchair
Terrified for life


["He is obviously still very tired, speaks very little, sparing his words and remains very weak," the statement said.

"He is still in a wheelchair today, wears splints on his left arm and both his legs and spends his days in a corset moulded to his waist, sat in his wheelchair.

"The nights are always extremely difficult, his sleep is very agitated. He is in pain. He wakes up many times and he cries."]

[arista]

Its been reported the 17 year old
planned to through any child to his death.
He has Autism and hated his care team,
he thought by doing this Evil crime
a better care team will take over his case.

[Cherie]

Its been reported the 17 year old
planned to through any child to his death.
He has Autism and hated his care team,
he thought by doing this Evil crime
a better care team will take over his case.

Thats so sad, if only he had someone to advocate a change of personnel for him, that little lad might not have gone through the ordeal, he and his family are living a nightmare

[arista]

Thats so sad, if only he had someone to advocate a change of personnel for him, that little lad might not have gone through the ordeal, he and his family are living a nightmare


Yes he was viewed
as "stable enough to go out for the day."
But had planned to grab any child
and chuck them to their death
the reason it had to be a child was they
could not fight back.

[arista]

[Jonty Bravery, 18, of Northolt, planned an
attack and targeted young children last
August, the prosecution said.
The victim suffered a bleed to the brain
and was left with life-changing injuries.

At the Old Bailey, Mrs Justice McGowan
said Bravery intended to kill and
"almost killed that six-year-old boy".]


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-53191161

[Livia]

That poor little boy... Heart-breaking to hear his parents' statement.

[Ammi]

A boy who suffered catastrophic injuries when he was thrown from the balcony of the Tate Modern has been able to go home, his family has said.
Last August the boy, aged six at the time and visiting London from France with his family, fell 100ft (30m) and suffered life-changing injuries.
Now, the boy's family says he is "happy to see his toys again".
Jonty Bravery, 18, who threw the boy from the balcony, was convicted of his attempted murder and jailed, in June.
The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, spent time at Royal London Hospital before moving to a hospital in France.

During Bravery's sentencing, the court was told the boy would require round-the-clock care support until at least 2022.
His injuries included a bleed to the brain and fractures to his spine and he has been left needing the use of a wheelchair.
An update posted on a GoFundMe site, which has raised almost £250,000 for the boy's medical care, said his parents were able to bring him home "just for a weekend".
"We took him to the sea and he was able to build sandcastles with a friend on the beach," the statement said.
"He stays seated in one place, and we bring him what he needs to build. He couldn't swim, of course, mainly because he still can't move around without his splints.
"He also returned at home for the first time and he was super happy to see his house and his toys again, even though he couldn't go upstairs to see his room."

The parents thanked the public for their continued support and said their son's reading, breathing and singing was improving "little by little".
"He still spends most of his day in a wheelchair and still cannot walk on his own," the statement added.
"But when we give him our hand, we don't need to carry his weight anymore like before - it is mostly about helping him to find his balance.
"He can walk a few metres like that and he now also manages to climb one or two steps, always with our help."



...full article...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-53806968

[LaLaLand]

Aw I'm so pleased he's back home. What a trooper!

[GoldHeart]

Jeez how is he alive after something so horrific but I'm glad he's come through this , and the teen who did this needs locking up for good ! .

[bots]

i feel so sorry for the little lad, his childhood has been robbed from him, and his life will never be the same again