A tragic and senseless incident happened in August 2019. A 6-year-old boy was thrown off a 10th floor viewing platform at the Tate Modern, which could have easily ended in his death. However, he managed to survive the incident — and today he is continuing to heal.
The boy, who is unnamed, fell approximately 100 feet. The incident was no accident — a 17-year-old boy was later arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. The act itself was random. There was no connection between the boy and the teen, which made the incident even more horrifying.
According to People magazine, witnesses had said that the boy landed on the art gallery’s fifth-floor roof around 2:40 p.m. Around that time, his mother was looking for him, frantic over where he could be.
"We are providing around the clock support to the little boy's family as they wait for more news on his condition and our priority remains to determine what led to yesterday’s events," Detective Chief Inspector John Massey said in a statement last year. "This was a truly shocking incident," he added. "People will understandably be searching for answers."
Detective John Massey knew that the visual was very disturbing for many people who happened to be visiting the gallery at the time. It's one of London's largest attractions, so it was likely pretty populated during the time of the incident. "It would have been incredibly distressing to watch, and it may be that you left Tate Modern very quickly after. If you have not yet spoken to us about what you saw, please contact us without delay," he said at the time.
The culprit was 17-year-old Jonty Bravery, and he'll serve at least 15 years behind bars. "I cannot emphasise too clearly that this is not a 15-year sentence," said Justice Maura McGowan, per CNN. "The sentence is detention for life. The minimum term is 15 years. Your release cannot be considered before then, you may never be released."
"You had intended to kill someone that day," the justice continued. "The injuries you caused are horrific. That little boy has suffered permanent and life-changing injuries." According to the boy's parents, he has years of physical therapy ahead of him.
Prior to the incident, Jonty reportedly searched online for "information about killing people and what effect autism would have on sentencing." The justice also told Jonty that he "had also carried out similar searches over many months before. You investigated different methods of murder."
Luckily, there's some good news about the story — and that's that the boy is slowly but surely making healthy progress. His parents have been updating all of the supportive donors on his GoFundMe page and says that he's starting to learn how to walk again. The page was initially set up by a woman named Vicky who was horrified by the story and wanted to help.
"When I set up the fund I did not personally know the family," she clarified. "However, I am now in contact with the parents on a periodic basis as they kindly provide updates to this page. They have been truly overwhelmed by the love, support and kindness shown by so many who are willing their brave young boy on to make a good recovery."
On November 30, Vicky released a statement from his parents. "I have received a further update from our Little Knight's parents. I know so many of you continue to think of him and many messages still come through asking how he is. Thank you once again for your unfaltering support and kindness to them all," she said.
"Good morning all!" the update read. "As you can imagine, we too have been confined for several weeks. Our son is no longer allowed to come home on weekends. We therefore spend seven days a week in the hospital, except that the two parents have this time the right to take turns, which was not authorized during the first confinement. One of us spends the day there and the other at night. So it's less difficult than during the first confinement."
"Spending every night in the hospital is very tiring because of the noise, and also very disturbing," the update continued. "Our son's memory is once again greatly affected. He no longer remembers what he did that day or what day it is. Despite everything, he continues to make efforts and progress: he begins to walk with a tetrapod cane while we hold him by the back of the coat for balance. He also has less pain, so the doctors were able to lower his medication."
But he's still trying to improve and has plenty of will. "He tries to do more and more things with his left arm like holding his tube of toothpaste or his glasses case to close it," the update said. "He continues to recover his breath. He still speaks very slowly, but now speaks word by word and no longer syllable by syllable. He tries to sing and make up songs with rhymes. And he was able to start using the blowpipe with the rehabilitators to continue improving his breathing."
"We are impatiently awaiting the reopening of the balneotherapy center, the return of weekend leaves and visits because he misses his grandparents and his friends," the update said in its conclusion. "Sorry that we couldn't have written earlier. We try to relay the progress of our little knight as much as possible despite the reorganizations due to the containment. Thank you very much for all your support. You carry us. Thank you for that. The family of the child."
This never should have happened in the first place. But it's good to know that the boy is slowly making improvements. So far, the GoFundMe has raised €295,430 (about $358,903) to help pay for the boy's treatments, with more money coming in whenever his tragic story is shared.
In footage that was taken the day of the incident, Jonty Bravery can be seen eyeing up children — which is a scary thing for every parent who was at the Tate Modern that day. "The defendant scooped him up and, without any hesitation, carried him straight to the railings and threw him over," said prosecutor Deanna Heer, per the BBC. In reality, it was actually Jonty's life that ended that day.
While these events are terrifying, they shouldn't make any parents fearful of attending such great venues like Tate Modern. While a nightmare for all, this was an isolated incident. The boy is slowly on the road to recovery, and he's got so much love behind him from those around the world who were stunned by his story.
