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Tate Modern: Teenager arrested for attempted murder after six-year-old boy thrown from 10th floor

Police, ambulance crews and fire crews are seen outside the Tate Modern gallery in London after it was placed on lockdown   - AFP
Police, ambulance crews and fire crews are seen outside the Tate Modern gallery in London after it was placed on lockdown - AFP

A mother screamed “my son, my son” after her six year-old was thrown from the tenth floor of the Tate Modern gallery on Sunday afternoon.

A 17-year-old has been arrested and the victim has been taken to hospital where, on Monday morning, he was said to in a stable but critical condition.

Police were called at around 2.40pm on Sunday to reports of a young boy thrown from the tenth floor viewing platform of the Tate Modern gallery in south London.

The boy was found on a fifth floor roof and was removed “under a sheet” according to witnesses. He was treated at the scene and taken to hospital by London Air Ambulance.

Police have arrested a 17-year-old boy who was not known to the victim on suspicion of attempted murder.

Nancy Barnfield, 47, had taken a trip to visit the art gallery from Rochdale with her two young sons.

 police officer looks out from the viewing platform at the Tate Modern art gallery, following the arrest of a 17-year-old male - Credit: PA
A police officer looks out from the viewing platform at the Tate Modern art gallery, following the arrest of a 17-year-old male Credit: PA

The admin worker said: “The mother just screamed ‘my son, my son’ - she sounded terrified.

“She appeared about 35-years-old and spoke in an Italian accent, I think she must have been a tourist.

“We were close to the viewing gallery on the tenth floor, that’s where he was pushed. Then there was a loud bang and people rushed in to restrain him, it was mostly men.

“They held him for ten minutes before police arrived. His face showed no emotion, he was completely silent.”

At the scene, ambulances and rapid response cars were parked, joined by police officers and a fire engine.

Rafaella Montuori, 20, a designer from Brazil, said that she saw a stretcher carrying a small person.

She said: “We were in the elevator and we saw security, then everybody came rushing from the tenth floor.

“Everyone was screaming, somebody said there was a child who fell.

“We went into the restaurant and we could hear helicopters above, people were crying.

An aerial view of the Tate Modern
An aerial view of the Tate Modern

“There was a stretcher and I could see fireman taking a small [person], a boy or a young woman.”

Corinne Brookes, 25, was at the Tate Modern and told The Telegraph she arrived on the 10th floor viewing gallery seconds after the incident.

She said: “I was going up to the 10th floor to the viewing platform and I saw a lot of commotion on the balcony. People were screaming and shouting and these two guys looked like they were fighting, they were grabbing each other. The two guys were holding another guy, kind of like they were fighting.

“I went in and said to the security lady ‘something’s going on out there’. Then I saw a woman climbing, [with her] leg and arm over the railing on the balcony.

“At that point people were grabbing their children and screaming and crying so I just thought something terrible had happened so I started running down the stairs and other people were running. People might have thought it was a knife attack or something else.

“As I was going downstairs a woman was crying her eyes out and I said ‘are you ok? What exactly happened?’ She said ‘they’ve thrown him off, someone’s thrown a kid off.’”

A London Air Ambulance helicopter takes off from outside the Tate Modern gallery in London on August 4, 2019 after it was put on lock down and evacuated after an incident involving a child falling - Credit:  AFP
A London Air Ambulance helicopter takes off from outside the Tate Modern gallery in London on August 4, 2019 after it was put on lock down and evacuated after an incident involving a child falling Credit: AFP

Police officers attended the scene along with the London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance.

A Metropolitan Police statement said: "Police were called at around 14:40hrs on Sunday, 4 August, to reports of a young boy thrown from the tenth floor viewing platform of the Tate Modern in Bankside SE1.

"Officers attended along with colleagues from London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance.

"The six year-old victim was found on a fifth floor roof. He was treated at the scene and taken to hospital by London’s Air Ambulance. The boy’s condition is critical; his family are being supported by police.

"A 17-year-old male had remained with members of the public on the tenth floor viewing platform. There is nothing to suggest that he is known to the victim.

"The teenager was arrested by police officers on suspicion of attempted murder and taken into police custody.

"A number of members of the public are assisting police with witness statements. Visitors to the gallery have been allowed to leave."

The art gallery on the south bank of the River Thames was on lockdown following the incident.