Toddler Dies After Falling From Dad’s Arms, Over Escalator Railing

A 2-year-old boy died early Monday after he slipped out of his father's arms and fell from the second floor of a Denver, Colorado, mall over the weekend, police said.

The unnamed child's father had been holding him in his arms at the top of an escalator at the Town Center of Aurora at around 4 p.m. Sunday, The Denver Post reported, citing the Aurora Police Department.

Police said the boy jumped out of his father's arms and went over the escalator railing, resulting in him falling to the mall's first floor, according to Fox 31.

"I was in one of the shoe stores and I heard a lot of screaming, I heard a lady screaming, then out of nowhere the shop owner ran outside he was on the phone I heard him saying, that something happened, and he couldn’t close the store because he had guests. And then he looked at me, he told me what happened that a little kid fell off the escalator," Cesar Solorzano, a mall visitor at the time, was quoted as saying by CBS 4.

"It’s just a reminder for parents even if you’re holding onto your kids going down the escalator, you can never be too safe," another shopper was quoted by the outlet as saying.

Emergency crews took the boy away following the fall and rushed him to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to the CBS affiliate's report. The toddler died Monday morning.

Police said they currently believe that the fall had been an accident. The incident is still being investigated, and police are urging witnesses to contact authorities to aid in the investigation.

"We are asking anyone that may have witnessed this, that have not yet spoken to the police, to please reach out to Metro Denver Crime Stoppers so that we may follow up with them," police said.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family at this time. We are working closely with the Aurora Fire and police departments as they investigate the accident," a spokesperson for Washington Prime Group, the owner of the mall, was quoted as saying by Fox 31 in response to the incident.