The Stratford Arms Hotel in New York City.Photo:Google Maps
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An 11-year-old boy died after authorities say he was found unconscious at a migrant center in New York City.
He was rushed to Mt. Sinai-West Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, according to WNYW.
Police sources told theNew York Postthat when authorities found him, there had been a shoelace around his neck. A New York Police Department (NYPD) spokesperson told theWest Side Ragthat the police don’t suspect foul play and believe it was a possible suicide.
No arrests have been made in the death, police told Fox 5 New York.
The NYPD explained to the outlets that the medical examiner is currently working to determine the boy’s cause of death. The investigation into the incident is still ongoing.
The NYPD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for a statement.
New York Upper West Side Council Member Gale Brewer, who visited the shelter on Tuesday following the death, called the incident “devastating.”
“It is devastating to lose a child, not only for the family, but for the community at the hotel,” Brewer commented to the West Side Rag.
The hotel was one of two emergency shelters that opened in recent months following a surge of migrants entering N.Y.C. this year. Mayor Eric Adams announced in June that he would open shelters at 117 W. 70th St. as well as 205 and 207 W. 85th St. in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. This decision came as theNew York Postreported that the number of migrant arrivals topped 74,000.
“New York City is facing a humanitarian crisis unlike any other before,” Adams said at the time. “With more than 47,000 asylum seekers still in the city’s care and thousands continuing to arrive each week, we need a national decompression strategy to handle this national issue.”
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More migrants have since sought shelter in the city, with approximately 3,600 people seeking asylum arriving in N.Y.C. the week after Thanksgiving, per another report from theNew York Post. With the increase in numbers, Adams noted, according to the outlet, that the city was “facing a humanitarian crisis unlike any other before.”
source: people.com
