Casmine Aska, Bronx teen accused of throwing boy, 9, off roof, says he "slipped"

(CBS) NEW YORK - Casmine Aska, a teenager accused of throwing a 9-year-old boy from a rooftop in the Bronx, claims that he slipped and dropped the boy by accident, CBS New York reports.

Aska, 17, is charged with second-degree attempted murder. Police say he hurled 9-year-old Freddy Martin off the roof of a five-story building in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx Friday night.

A police report said Aska told investigators he grabbed Freddy by the legs while on the rooftop around 8:30p.m. Friday. Aska said he slipped and the boy fell five stories, according to CBS New York.

Police say Aska did not call 911 and did not tell his mother, the station reports.

Freddy was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical Center where he was listed in critical condition, police say. As of late Sunday night, he was in a medically-induced coma.

The fourth grader lives with his parents and grandparents in the five-story building, CBS radio affiliate 1010 WINS reports. The suspect is his neighbor in the building; one lived on the fourth floor, the other on the third.