Police: 2nd child in fall at Minneapolis apartment expected to live

One child is dead and another is in serious condition after falling from an upper floor of an apartment building along Minneapolis' Midtown Greenway on Thursday.

The two children were both under the age of 4, according to police spokesman John Elder.

Officers were called about 2:20 p.m. about the children having fallen, he said. Workers in the area saw them fall and rushed to provide medical aid.

When police arrived, they took over until medical responders arrived.

The toddlers were taken to HCMC with "very critical injuries," Elder said. Later, police said one had died and upgraded the condition of the second to serious, saying that child is expected to survive.

"This is a tragedy," Elder said at a City Hall news conference. He said police have "deployed all our resources, including our community navigator and our chaplain."

The building, Karmel Village apartments, which is in the 2800 block of S. Pleasant Avenue, and the area are home to many Somali-American residents and businesses.

The building is five levels high, with two levels below street grade along the sunken greenway. Elder said the children fell from "an upper floor," but couldn't say which level they fell from.

He also said he couldn't say whether they fell from a roof, a balcony or a window, or whether they fell onto a paved surface or onto a grassy margin. He also couldn't say whether the children were siblings or otherwise related.

Elder said the children were under the care of "what was believed to be a responsible adult" when they fell.

With spring arriving, many people are opening their windows for the first time in months, Elder noted. He urged residents to be aware of the hazards of windows and balconies for young children.

Staff writer Liz Sawyer contributed to this report.