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A Florida man has been arrested after allegedly dangling and dropping a four-year-old boy from a balcony at a resort.
According to WESH, a 31-year-old man named Brandon Gilmore was arrested on Saturday, July 6. Gilmore is now reportedly facing a charge of “aggravated child abuse.”
Additionally, Gilmore is reportedly being held at the Volusia County jail, per Fox 35 Orlando. The outlet adds that the 31-year-old is being held without bond.
WESH reports that the incident occurred on Saturday. Gilmore had reportedly met the mother of the toddler — who has not publicly been identified — at a resort in Daytona Beach. Fox 35 Orlando adds that the resort is called the Sandals Inn.
Around 8 p.m., Gilmore reportedly told the child’s mother he was taking him outside to play and “scare him a little bit.”
The outlet reports that Gilmore proceeded to hang the toddler over the balcony by his feet. Witnesses reportedly alleged the 31-year-old then dropped the four-year-old head first.
According to the outlet, the child fell two stories to the ground. Fox 35 Orlando reports that officers later reviewed security footage of the incident and shared a description of what occurred in an arrest affidavit.
“Officers observed (Gilmore) exited the hotel room carrying the child in a normal way, holding him in his arms. Officers observed (Gilmore) carrying the child to the balcony and holding the child by one leg, with his head positioned to the ground, then proceeding to drop him from the second-floor balcony,” the arrest affidavit reportedly reads.
The outlet adds that both Gilmore and the child’s mother had been drinking before the incident occurred. WESH adds that the four-year-old was transported to the hospital on a trauma alert. The child reportedly experienced “serious and severe internal injuries,” including “blunt force trauma to his head.”
WESH reports that the child’s current condition remains unclear. However, the Department of Children and Families has been informed of the incident.
The incident regarding Gilmore and the four-year-old is not the first shocking incident to happen in the last month. As The Shade Room previously reported, in June, a 27-year-old woman was also arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse and domestic battery after running over her boyfriend and a 16-month-old infant.
Aaliyah Ross allegedly did this after getting into an argument with her boyfriend. The woman reportedly told police that she had acted as if she was going to run over her boyfriend on “several” previous instances. However, this time, she thought “he would have moved out of the way.”
At the time, ABC7 WWSB reported that Ross’ boyfriend experienced bruising to his “body and lungs.” Meanwhile, the infant remained hospitalized after sustaining “a broken left shoulder collar bone, multiple broken ribs, a partially collapsed lung, and abrasions and bruising on his body.”
As an investigation was said to be ongoing, the outlet also reported that the Department of Children and Families had become involved.
