Friday May 3, 2019
By John Reinan
Both children who fell were under the age of 4. They were taken to HCMC, with the death of one announced in the afternoon.
Women gathered outside of the Karmel Village Apartments after two children fell from an apartment building at S. 28th and Pleasant Avenue Thursday May 2, 2019 in Minneapolis, MN. Jerry Holt – Star Tibune
One child is dead and another is in serious condition after falling from an upper floor of an apartment building along Minneapolis’ Midtown Greenway on Thursday.
The two children were both under the age of 4, according to police spokesman John Elder.
Officers were called about 2:20 p.m. about the children having fallen, he said. Workers in the area saw them fall and rushed to provide medical aid.
When police arrived, they took over until medical responders arrived.
The toddlers were taken to HCMC with “very critical injuries,” Elder said. Later, police said one had died and upgraded the condition of the second to serious, saying that child is expected to survive.
“This is a tragedy,” Elder said at a City Hall news conference. He said police have “deployed all our resources, including our community navigator and our chaplain.”
The building, Karmel Village apartments, which is in the 2800 block of S. Pleasant Avenue, and the area are home to many Somali-American residents and businesses.
Community organizer Abdirizak Bihi rushed to the scene to grieve alongside friends and neighbors. It’s our responsibility to rally around the family,” said Bihi, director of the Somali Education and Social Advocacy Center.
Minneapolis
police officers and crime lab investigators looked over the scene after
two children fell from an apartment building at S. 28th and Pleasant
Avenue on Thursday in Minneapolis. Jerry Holt – Star Tibune
The building is five levels high, with two levels below street grade along the sunken greenway. Elder said the children fell from “an upper floor,” but couldn’t say which level they fell from.
He also said he couldn’t say whether they fell from a roof, a balcony or a window, or whether they fell onto a paved surface or onto a grassy margin. He also couldn’t say whether the children were siblings or otherwise related.
Elder said the children were under the care of “what was believed to be a responsible adult” when they fell.
With spring arriving, many people are opening their windows for the first time in months, Elder noted. He urged residents to be aware of the hazards of windows and balconies for young children.