LONDON: A six-year-old boy who was left fighting for his life after being thrown from the viewing gallery of the Tate Modern art gallery has begun to speak for the first time, his family said on Thursday.
The boy was visiting London from France when he was thrown 100 ft by a stranger in August, leaving him in intensive care with broken arms and legs and a fractured spine.
Jonty Bravery, 18, of Ealing, west London, later admitted a charge of attempted murder for the assault.
In an update posted on his GoFundMe page, the boy’s family said: “our little knight begins to speak! He pronounces one syllable after another, not all of them, and most of the time we have to guess what he means, but it’s better and better.”
Almost $190,000 has been raised by thousands of donors towards the boy’s medical fees which have included two operations. His family also say that his physical abilities have begun to improve, despite still causing him pain.
“He still has lots of splints but he is starting to move his four limbs now,” they said.
His attacker, who has autism spectrum disorder, said in court he carried out the assault because he wanted to appear on the news. He will be sentenced at the Old Bailey court on Feb. 17.
