The six-year-old French boy grabbed from his mother and hurled from the top of the Tate Modern has a ‘deep bleed to the brain’ and broke his spine, legs and arms in the fall, a court heard today.
The teenager accused of attacking the child tourist was in tears in the dock at Bromley Magistrates’ Court this morning as he was accused of his attempted murder at London’s top gallery on Sunday.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be named because of his age, was wearing a prison-issue grey tracksuit and sporting a black eye after apparently being punched by a Tate Modern visitor.
The child, part of a French family visiting London on holiday, fell 100ft after allegedly being snatched and thrown from the tenth floor viewing platform in one ‘very swift’ movement, the court heard.
He landed on the art gallery’s fifth floor roof and was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition having suffered fractures to his spine, legs and arms, the court heard.
Paramedics with a stretcher can be seen on the roof of the Blavatnik building at the Tate Modern to treat a French boy, six, allegedly thrown from the roof
The teenager allegedly grabbed a boy, six, and threw him from the viewing platform at the Tate Modern on Sunday with the child landing around five floors down on a roof out of picture on the left
The teenager appeared confused and tearful as he spoke only to confirm name, age and British nationality.
Sian Morgan, prosecuting, said:’ This is an incident that took place on August 4. The complainant is a six year old child. Visiting the Tate with his parents they were on the 10th floor viewing platform.
‘He walked a couple of feet away from his parents. It is then said that the 17 year old picked him up and threw him over the edge of the viewing platform.
‘It was very swift and in one movement. The boy fell approximately 100 feet to the 5th floor.
‘He suffered very serious injuries and is currently in hospital.
‘He suffered fractures to his spine legs and arms. The 17 year old was apprehended by members of the public. Police arrived and arrested him.’
Magistrate David Armitage told the teenager ‘You will be returned to youth detention until Thursday August 8 when you will attend the Central Criminal Court.
‘You will attend there again on August 22 for a trial preparation hearing.’
The 17-year-old is charged with attempted murder. He will appear at the Old Bailey on August 8 to plea.
The teenager will then appear again at the Old Bailey on August 22 for a trial preparation hearing.
The victim was with his mother at the Tate Modern viewing deck on the tallest point of the gallery (right) and landed on the flat roof on left hand side, around five floors down
Mark Welte, a writer from San Francisco, said he had to restrain the boy’s mother after hearing a commotion and a ‘primal scream’. ‘Someone said someone had thrown a child over. I leapt up and looked over the rail and I did indeed see a child down below there,’ he said.
‘The child’s mother then tried to climb the rail. I restrained her and pulled her back.’
The boy’s condition improved to ‘stable but critical’ yesterday – with his family holding a bedside vigil.
Detective Chief Inspector John Massey said: ‘This was a truly shocking incident, and people will understandably be searching for answers.
‘At the moment, this is being treated as an isolated event with no distinct or apparent motive.’
In a direct appeal for witnesses, he added: ‘It would have been incredibly distressing to watch, and it may be that you left Tate Modern very quickly after. If you have not yet spoken to us about what you saw, please contact us without delay.
‘My team is also very keen to talk to you if you witnessed a male whose behaviour seemed out of place, suspicious or worrying, in the hour or two before the incident in or near the gallery.’
Mr Massey thanked members of the public who pinned a teenage suspect to the floor, allowing officers to arrest him when they arrived.
Olga Malehevska (pictured yesterday), who was on the viewing platform at Tate Modern gallery in London with her four-year-old, said she could hear people say ‘Oh my God, the boy dropped’, and also saw a woman crying, shaking and shouting ‘oh my son, my son’. Social media producer Isabella Knazek (right) also witnessed the incident
Police had sealed off the viewing area and officers were seen pointing downwards from where the child was allegedly hurled down in the aftermath
People inside the gallery looked visibly distressed by what had occurred at the gallery on Sunday but the child is expected to survive the attack
Police were called to the London art gallery at around 2.40pm on Sunday and put it into lockdown. Witnesses described hearing the boy’s mother scream ‘my son, my son’ as she rushed to the lifts to try to reach him below.
Olga Malehevska was on the viewing platform with her four-year-old son when she heard visitors shout: ‘Oh my God, the boy dropped.’
The Ukrainian journalist said: ‘I was standing on the balcony with my little one and he was touching the fence and we were taking pictures.’
She said she heard a noise and felt some pushing, adding: ‘I just felt like something was going on, I should take my child out of there immediately and we tried to go toward the exit.’ Miss Malehevska said she saw the victim’s mother crying, shaking and shouting: ‘Oh my son, my son.’
A spokesman for Tate Modern said the gallery was open yesterday but the viewing platform was shut out of respect.
The platform, which has a chest-high barrier, is part of the Tate’s £260million Blavatnik extension.
Police are continuing to appeal for further witnesses to come forward.