A disturbing incident unfolded in Daytona Beach, Florida, when a 31-year-old man, Brandon Gilmore, allegedly dropped a 4-year-old child from the second-floor balcony of a hotel. The incident occurred on Saturday evening, just before 8:00 p.m., at the Sandlewood Resort.
According to eyewitnesses, Gilmore had met the child’s mother earlier in the day and the two had discussed getting a piercing together. Before the incident, Gilmore claimed he received permission from the mother to enter her hotel room. He told her he was taking the boy outside to play and “scare him a little bit.” An image shows the suspect:
Witnesses reported that Gilmore held the boy by his legs, dangling him over the balcony, before allegedly dropping him. The child fell head-first onto the concrete floor, with no grass or soft surface to cushion the impact. A witness, Dasanni Bentley, described the scene, saying the boy “slipped right out of his hand” and fell “directly on his head on the concrete.”
Bentley stated that the boy’s face turned purple as he struggled to breathe, adding that the suspect and the boy’s mother rushed over to him, while nearby hotel guests screamed for them not to touch the child. The 4-year-old was rushed to Halifax Health Medical Center as a trauma alert, but is expected to make a full recovery.
Gilmore was charged with aggravated child abuse and was taken into custody by Daytona Beach police. A friend staying in the hotel room at the time claimed that Gilmore had been drinking with the woman before the incident. The motive behind the alleged act remains unclear, but the community is left reeling from the terrifying ordeal.
