Boy, 9, Falls To His Death From Bronx Building
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police are investigating the death of a 9-year-old boy whose body was found on top of scaffolding outside a building in the Bronx.
Just after 5 p.m. Wednesday, police said someone called 911 to report a body on top of construction scaffolding outside a 30-story high-rise in Morris Heights.
When officers arrived, they found 9-year-old Sidy Fofana. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
As CBS 2's Hazel Sanchez reported, the boy went to visit his uncle who also lives in apartment building on Wednesday afternoon.
The family said less than an hour later, the uncle gave Sidy $10 before he left. He was then found dead on the scaffolding a short time later, police said.
Police said the boy lived on the fourth floor with his parents, but fell from a "high location," possibly the roof, though it's unclear if he jumped, was pushed or if it was an accident.
"The worst thing is that since it happened to now, we still have no answer of how it happened," the boy's mother, Sinada Fofana, told Sanchez. "It's like every mother's worst nightmare."
"I don't know what happened, but it's not on the roof. I can guess maybe he have money, $10. Somebody, you know, try to take this money," the boy's father said.
Sidy, a straight-A student, was the fourth of five children and dreamed of becoming a dentist.
Tenants say they don't think the boy tumbled from a window.
"The person who lives in the apartment must have removed the guards from the window," said resident Frank Feliciano. "That's the only explanation I have because the workers just put brand new windows, guards, gates -- everything is new."
Officials are looking for witnesses. The medical examiner will determine the exact cause of death.
"All I can say is my heart goes out to the family of the child," McLain said.
On Wednesday, a 2-year-old boy was hospitalized after falling out of a third-story apartment window on the Lower East Side.
The boy, identified as Jayvin Cruz, landed on a flexible metallic lid of a shed that houses garbage cans, breaking his fall.
The boy's grandmother said the landlord was supposed to put a guard in the window, but never did.
City housing officials said installing window guards is a shared responsibility for owners and tenants.
Tenants are required to let landlords know if there's a child in the house 10 years of age or younger. If there is, the landlord is required to install a guard.
The Health Department is investigating that case.
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