Cellphone video shows a man pushing a four-year-old boy off a train bridge in Montesano, Wash., because the child “wanted to jump,” according to police.
A 35-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman, who has been identified as the boy’s mother, have been charged with reckless endangerment.
In the Aug. 24 video, which was posted online by a witness, screams can be heard from people nearby who realized what was about to happen and then shouts of anger after the young boy hits the water.
The child was reportedly not injured.
“He was screaming and crying, it was terrible,” said Brianna Jones to NBC affiliate, KING 5 News.
“As soon as he hit the water, my heart sank, I felt so bad, I didn’t know what to do,” said Kaylub Fawley to KING 5 News.
Fawley was also the one who recorded the incident.
According to KING 5 News, people were shouting at the man to not throw the child off of the bridge but he proceeded to anyway.
Witnesses also said the young boy was wearing a life jacket and that the child’s mom was in the water prior to him being thrown.
Police went on to say the boy had asked his mother if he could jump off the bridge, but she initially said no. However, the man, whom she just met, had persuaded her and she agreed to let the man throw him into the water.
KING 5 News reported the man may have been under the influence of alcohol.
A spokesperson for the local social and health service department said the boy, along with his sibling, are no longer in the care of the woman.