Juda Agyemang, 13, Jumps 21 Floors to His Death From High-Rise Apartment, After He was Sent Home from After-School Academic Program for Not Paying Attention

Juda Agyemang, 13, jumped to his death from the balcony of his high-rise apartment in the Bronx Monday after he was sent home from school for not paying attention, family members said. He fell 21 floors and landed in the front of the Tracy Towers on Mosholu Parkway shortly after 5 p.m. yesterday.

The youngster had reportedly just taken an examination for the Bronx High School of Science. According to media reports, he had a problem in an after-school academic program at Our Lady of Angels school on Sedgwick Ave. that got him sent home early for not paying attention.

"His mother met him downstairs," his aunt, Mary Boakye, said. "He told her that he just wanted to go out and play basketball. "She said yes but he had to eat first. She went to the kitchen to get her son food when she heard a noise from the balcony and he wasn't there anymore," the aunt said. Source: NY Daily News

As a parent, words just cannot express the sorrow I feel for the family of this boy. It is a great tragedy that he felt he had no way out but to take his own life.

Photo credit: Juda Agyemang, NY Daily News