Investigators believe an 18-year-old man picked up and threw or pushed the boy over the railing as they were waiting in line. APPLE VALLEY, Minn. - An 8-year-old boy is in the hospital after police say he was pushed by a man from a waterslide platform, falling 31 feet to the concrete below. It happened at approximately 1:35 p.m. Tuesday at the Apple Valley Aquatic Center located at 14421 Johnny Cake Ridge Road. The boy was conscious and breathing when officers arrived. The victim's current condition is stable, but he did suffer several broken bones in his feet, legs and shoulders. Apple Valley Police Capt. Nick Francis said the boy did not suffer any head or internal injuries. "We have someone who is alive today, who we didn't think was going to be alive yesterday," Francis said. "The victim is in amazingly good spirits, able to talk, able to laugh a little bit. His question was, 'why did this happen to me? Why did this person throw me over?'" Investigators say the 18-year-old man, identified as Roman Adams, of Maple Grove, picked up and pushed the boy over the railing as they were waiting in line. He has been charged for third-degree assault. Capt. Francis said Adams has developmental disabilities, which could be taken into account as the case moves through the courts system. For that reason, Francis said it's a "sad story all around." "It's difficult when we have to view someone as a possible suspect that's got some mental disabilities," Francis said. "But our job comes down to determining whether or not a crime took place, whether or not someone knew right from wrong." Police said it appeared Adams did in fact know right from wrong in this situation. According to his arrest warrant, Adams told police that he was waiting in line to use the slide and that it was "taking a long time." He admitted to throwing the child from the platform, according to the charges. In a later interview, Adams told police the line was taking too long so he "pushed" the child over the railing and saw him fall. Police said a PCA (aide) was with Adams at te water park, but the aide was not standing side-by-side with Adams on the slide platform. The aide was elsewhere in the park at the time of the incident. Adams previously bit a lifeguard during an incident on July 13. Police discovered this during the investigation, when water park staff told them about the biting incident. It wasn't initially referred to the police department. Witnesses reported there was no interaction between the two prior to the incident. Investigators say Adams and the victim do not know each other. The Apple Valley Aquatic Center closed Tuesday, shortly after the incident. It reopened to the public on Wednesday.<doc-sep>APPLE VALLEY, Minn. (WCCO) — An 18-year-old man is in custody after allegedly picking up and throwing an 8-year-old boy off of a 31-foot water slide platform Tuesday afternoon at the Apple Valley Aquatic Center. “It’s been open for 20 years, we’ve never had an incident of this magnitude,” said Apple Valley Police Capt. Nick Francis. “Everybody in the water park that saw it happen are just devastated by it.” Police said 18-year-old Roman Adams of Maple Grove threw the boy because he was mad that the line was taking too long. Investigators later learned Adams has cognitive disabilities, and that a personal care assistant was with him at the park, but not in line with him for the slide. “Our investigation focused on [Adams] knew what he did was wrong, he knew what he did was going to hurt someone and he did it,” Francis said. Police said the boy suffered several broken bones but was lucky to be alive. They say lifeguards were quick to help him until police arrived. “There’s not a lot of safety mechanisms that you can put in place for when someone commits a crime, so I don’t think another guard or a higher rail could have prevented this from happening,” he said. Adams was arrested for third-degree felony assault. Francis said Adams’s mental abilities could impact how the county attorney moves forward with the case. Francis also said the victim was in good spirits when officers visited him at the hospital Wednesday.<doc-sep>APPLE VALLEY, Minnesota -- An 18-year-old man is in custody after allegedly picking up and throwing an 8-year-old boy off of a 31-foot water slide platform Tuesday afternoon at the Apple Valley Aquatic Center. "It's been open for 20 years, we've never had an incident of this magnitude," Apple Valley Police Capt. Nick Francis told WCCO-TV . "Everybody in the water park that saw it happen are just devastated by it. "Police said 18-year-old Roman Adams of Maple Grove threw the boy because he was mad that the line was taking too long. Investigators later learned Adams has cognitive disabilities, and that a personal care assistant was with him at the park, but not in line with him for the slide.Police said the boy suffered several broken bones but was lucky to be alive. They say lifeguards were quick to help him until police arrived. "There's not a lot of safety mechanisms that you can put in place for when someone commits a crime, so I don't think another guard or a higher rail could have prevented this from happening," Francis said.Adams was arrested for third-degree felony assault. Francis said Adams's mental abilities could impact how the county attorney moves forward with the case.<doc-sep>
A man has been arrested on suspicion of throwing an 8-year-old boy 31 feet off a waterslide platform because the line was too long. The 18-year-old male has been charged with third-degree assault after allegedly chucking the boy over the railings at the Apple Valley Aquatic Center in Minnesota on July 31. The young victim plummeted 31 feet onto the concrete ground below, suffering several broken bones in his feet, legs and shoulders, reports Kare 11. Emergency services said the boy was conscious and breathing when they arrived at the scene. He did not suffer any head or internal injuries as a result of his fall. "About 70,000 people go through their water park every season, it's been open for 20 years and we've had nothing near this incident take place at all," Apple Valley Police Captain Nick Francis told KMSP. Police said the 18-year-old and the boy did not know each other previously. "There was no argument, no pushing, no shoving, no words exchanged, just this individual walking up and throwing this poor kid off the top," Francis added. The suspect was later identified as Roman Adams, who suffers from developmental disabilities. The 18-year-old had an aide with him at the waterpark at the time, although it is not known if the aide was with him in the line for the slide. Following his arrest, Adams reportedly admitted to police he did push the boy over the railing and watched him fall because the line for the slide was "taking a long time," reports Kare 11. Francis said the boy's disabilities will be taken into account as he moves through the courts. "It's difficult when we have to view someone as a possible suspect that's got some mental disabilities," Francis said. "But our job comes down to determining whether or not a crime took place, whether or not someone knew right from wrong." The Dakota County Jail confirmed that Adams had been released from custody on 1 August, reports KSTP. The waterpark closed following the incident due to "unforeseen circumstances" but reopened the following day. The boy remains hospitalized in a stable condition. "We have someone who is alive today, who we didn't think was going to be alive yesterday," Francis said. "The victim is in amazingly good spirits, able to talk, able to laugh a little bit. His question was, 'why did this happen to me? Why did this person throw me over?'" This article has been updated to remove a generic image of a waterslide unrelated to this story.