Police have arrested a man for dropping a child from the second-floor balcony of a hotel on Saturday in Daytona Beach, Florida, and a witness is sharing horrific details of the incident.
According to law enforcement, officers responded on Saturday just before 8:00 p.m. to the Sandlewood Resort after receiving a call about the boy being dropped, WFTV reported on Tuesday.
The suspect, 31-year-old Brandon Gilmore, told officers he met the child’s mother several hours before, and they talked about going to get a piercing together.
An image shows the suspect:
Before the incident, Gilmore said he received permission from the woman to go into her room, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported Monday.
According to police, Gilmore told the woman he was going to take the boy outside to play and “scare him a little bit.”
Authorities then said, “Gilbert [sic] then went outside of the hotel room and proceeded to hold (the boy) by both of his legs, holding him directly over the second-floor balcony.”
As the boy was dangling by his feet, the suspect allegedly dropped him, and he fell head first, per WFTV.
A witness named Dasanni Bentley said the man was swinging the boy around until the child “slipped right out of his hand” and “fell directly on his head on the concrete. No grass,” she told WESH.
The outlet said the boy is four years old.
When speaking of the child, Bentley said, “His face started turning bright purple. He obviously was getting no oxygen. It was just not a good situation.” She added that the suspect and the boy’s mother rushed over to him, and people nearby were screaming for them not to touch him.
A friend who was staying in that hotel room at the time said the suspect had been drinking with the woman before the incident, per the News-Journal article, which added that Gilmore was charged with aggravated child abuse in the case.
“The child was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center as a trauma alert. The child is not expected to have any long-term medical issues, and was discharged from the hospital Monday, said Daytona Beach police Sgt. Tim Ehrenkaufer,” the report stated.