Boy, 4, Thrown to His Death From Brooklyn Building by His Brother, Police Say

NEW YORK — A 4-year-old boy was thrown to his death from the roof of his seven-story apartment building in Brooklyn by his 20-year-old brother Saturday, police said.

The brother, identified by police as Shawn J. Smith, was charged with second-degree murder. Police said he had no criminal record and there was no history of involvement by the Administration of Children’s Services at the home of the boy, Shimron Smith.

Around 3:30 a.m., Smith approached two uniformed officers responding to a 911 call in the 70th Precinct, a few blocks from Shimron’s apartment in the East Midwood neighborhood, which is in the 63rd Precinct.

“I need to talk to you,” he said, according to police. The officers finished with their call and then continued their conversation with Smith, who told them: “My brother may be hurt. He might be dead.”

Police got his address and called officers from the 63rd Precinct.

“I’ll tell you more if you take me to the scene,” Smith said, according to police.

The boy was found in a rear courtyard and was pronounced dead at the scene.

No motive was offered for what happened. Police said there was video footage of Smith carrying his brother to the roof.

Anthony Beckford, head of the Copwatch Patrol Unit in Brooklyn, which monitors the behavior of police, organized a memorial of dolls, cloth flowers and candles with his sister Donna Heyward.

“I can’t fathom someone taking my child and throwing them off the roof,” Heyward said. “It tears me apart.”

Neighbors described Shimron as a sweet boy they often saw running and laughing on his way to or from school.

“He was always smiling, always laughing and running, like the average 4-year-old,” said Nicole Pierre, 30, an occupational therapist who has lived in the building for 22 years. “That’s why this is so sad.”

Pierre said she heard the news when she was trying to return home early Saturday and could not get into her building.

“It shocked me to my core,” she said.

The older brother was described by numerous neighbors as mentally unstable.

A family friend, Andrea Fergus, said the family was in a lot of pain.

“The family needs help and a lot of prayer,” Fergus said. “One minute your life is one thing and the next it’s completely changed.”

Speaking of Smith and Shimron’s mother, she added: “She has one in the precinct and she has one that’s dead. That’s painful.”