Brandon Gilmore dangles boy over second floor balcony at Daytona Beach, Floria resort before dropping him to the ground cause he wanted to scare child ‘a little bit.’
A 31-year-old Florida man has been accused of terrorising a young child after ‘dangling’ the infant over a second floor balcony before dropping the boy head first on to the ground below.
Brandon Gilmore is alleged to have dropped the boy from a second story balcony on July 6 at the Sandalwood Resort in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The man who told deputies he ‘wanted to scare him a little bit’ now faces an aggravated child abuse charge, WFTV reported.
Horrified guests at the resort called 911 just before 8 p.m. Saturday after saying Gilmore dropped the boy head first from the balcony, police said in a probable cause arrest affidavit.
Investigators said Gilmore told them he met the child’s mother five hours earlier, and that the pair had discussed getting a piercing later that day.
Reported lawandcrime: ‘The boy’s mother said she had met Gilmore at the hotel pool earlier in the day. The mother told cops she left her son with Gilmore while she went to take a shower. Witnesses said they saw Gilmore holding the boy by his feet over the second story balcony, and then letting him go. They then heard a child screaming after he crashed to the ground. A woman who saw what happened picked up the boy and took her back to her room. Others called 911. Someone went to the mother’s room to alert her of the situation.’
According to the affidavit, Gilmore told detectives that he told the boy’s mom that he was going to take the boy outside to play and ‘scare him a little bit.’
Gilmore admitted to dropping the boy off the balcony. Surveillance cameras also captured the incident, the affidavit stated.
Paramedics rushed the boy to the hospital with blunt force injuries to his head. First responders also were concerned that he may have suffered internal injuries as well.
Gilmore currently remains held at the Volusia County Jail without bond.
