The family of a young boy who survived being thrown from the 10th floor of London’s Tate Modern art gallery have said he has been able to achieve his goal of being able to run, jump and swim again.
The French boy was six years old when he was thrown from a balcony by then-17-year-old Jonty Bravery.
The boy was on holiday with his family in August 2019 when he was attacked and survived a 30m fall with life-changing injuries, including a bleed to the brain, fractures to his spine and broken arms and legs.
His family gave an update on a GoFundMe page which presently has £487,954 raised to give the body medical care and rehabilitation. They confirmed he was able to progress with his running, jumping and swimming before his next operation.
“Our little knight had long set himself the goal of being able to run, jump, and swim again. He can't do it like other children his age, of course, but we can no longer describe what he does in any other way than by saying it's running, jumping, and swimming,” the family said in a statement.
“It's different, only over a few meters or a very small height, but it's an incredible achievement. We are happy that he has been able to reach this stage of progress before his next operation.Indeed, he will have to be immobilized again for nearly two months in early 2026.
“This is an essential step for him to progress further and reduce his pain, but we know it will be a difficult milestone to overcome. Our son is apprehensive about this operation, but the surgeon is relying on all the progress he has made so far to reassure him of the future benefits and how much he will be able to do even better afterward.”
The boy’s memory skills are still limited, the family added, but they are “functional and still improving”, meaning he will acquire general knowledge at his own pace. He’s also maturing, thanks to work with a psychomotor therapist, allowing him to relax.
“Today, our pre-teen (we have to face the facts, he's not a little boy anymore) has understood that he needs to give himself breaks; we need to remind him less.”
He’s also found a place in the local middle school, although he is only able to attend half the classes as he still has to do 10 rehabilitation sessions per week which means the family are looking to move to find a new school to accommodate.
Autistic teenager Bravery was in supported accommodation at the time of the attack but allowed out unsupervised.
He was sentenced to serve at least 15 years in prison for attempted murder and may never be freed.
Mrs Justice McGowan said as she sentenced him in June 2020: “You had intended to kill someone that day – you almost killed that six-year-old boy.”
“You will spend the greater part – if not all – of your life detained ... you may never be released.”
‘I waited months to reunite with my family – but I missed the chance by 13 minutes’
A Florida teenager is in an Israeli prison. Why his family and advocates say he should be released
Wanted: £180,000 tutor to turn one-year-old into ‘English gentlemen’
Starmer’s digital ID plan could be jeopardised by Irish jobs agreement
