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Teen Accused Of Throwing Boy Off Roof: I Just Slipped

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The teenager accused of throwing a 9-year-old boy from a rooftop in the Bronx has claimed that he only slipped and dropped the boy by accident.

Casmine Aska, 17, is charged with second-degree attempted murder. Police said he hurled Freddy Martin, 9, off the roof of the five-story building at 1545 Nelson Ave. in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx.

A police report said Aska told investigators he grabbed Freddy by the legs while on the rooftop around 8:30 p.m. Friday.

Aska said he slipped, and the boy fell five stories.

Police said Aska did not call 911, and did not tell his mother.

Freddy was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition, police said. As of late Sunday night, he was in a medically-induced coma.

The fourth grader lives with his parents and grandparents in the of the five-story building, 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria reported. The suspect is his neighbor in the building – one lived on the fourth floor, the other on the third.

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