Metropolitan Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard (Google Maps)
Oct. 11, 2019 By Allie Griffin
A 6-year-old boy was assaulted by an emotionally disturbed homeless man right outside his grandfather’s Kew Gardens home yesterday.
The boy was standing in the driveway of the home near Metropolitan Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard just before 5 p.m. on Thursday when a 35-year-old homeless man randomly attacked him. The man, Laurance Gendreau- who has a history of mental illness, was walking in the area when he suddenly picked up the boy and threw him on the ground, police said.
The boy landed on his face and was taken to Cohen Children’s Medical Center for a facial contusion and hemorrhaging to the brain, according to the police.
Police arrested Gendreau close to the scene of the incident and charged him with assault, acting in a manner injurious to a child less than 17 and harassment.
The 6-year-old’s grandfather, Rabbi Naftali Portnoy, told reporters his grandson and his brother were waiting for a pizza delivery in the family’s driveway when Gendreau randomly attacked him.
He said he heard Gendreau tell police that he was bipolar and that he was shouting something about killing, according to the New York Daily News.
Portnoy said his grandson was in stable, but critical condition. “Have him in your prayers,” he said.
