Toddler Dies After Falling from 20th-Floor Window of High-Rise Apartment Building

A heartbreaking tragedy unfolded in New Jersey over the weekend after a toddler died in a fall from a 20th-floor window of a high-rise apartment building in Newark.

According to reports from NBC New York, WABC, and CBS New York, police were called to Elizabeth Towers around 7 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15. When officers arrived, they discovered that a 2-year-old boy had fallen from an open window. Newark and Essex County officials confirmed that the child was pronounced dead at the scene.

News footage from the area showed crews covering the open window on the building’s 20th floor. Authorities have not yet released the boy’s name, but neighbors told NBC New York that the family is from Ghana.

One neighbor, visibly shaken, described the child as “my little bro.”

“I really love him. I’m really sad. My heart is broken,” he told the outlet, adding that he had been playing with the toddler just days earlier. He also expressed concerns about the building’s condition, saying, “This building is old, and it needs to be renovated.”

Tenants told CBS New York that many families with children live in the building. Some residents have taken steps to protect their kids by installing security bars on their windows.

Neighbor Paul Ankrah said the windows can be dangerously large. He explained that Elizabeth Towers installed window guards in his unit after he informed management that he had a child. “My windows are safe. Before I moved in, I made sure they put up the barricade,” he said.

Another resident, Annie Richardson, told NBC New York that the building appears understaffed and struggles to keep up with maintenance issues. “They don’t have enough help…to get things going to fix problems,” she said.

Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II and Newark Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda said the incident remained under investigation as of midday Saturday, according to NJ.com.

Tenants say they’re hoping for stronger safety measures moving forward. “We need safety,” resident Belinda Owsumenseh told CBS New York. “Because there’s a lot of people here that got little kids, and definitely nobody wants that to happen again.”

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Tips Line at 1-877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432.