Autistic 9-Year-Old Drowns Behind Red Hook IKEA: Police

BROOKLYN, NY — A 9-year-old autistic boy drowned in the water behind the Red Hook IKEA late Wednesday night, police told Patch Thursday morning.

The boy, pulled from the water just after midnight, appears to have accidentally drowned after leaving his family at the IKEA store on Beard and Otsego streets, police said.

The 9-year-old was seen on surveillance footage leaving the store alone just before 9 p.m. and approaching Erie Basin Pier — where articles of his clothing were later found, according to police.

The NYPD sent boats and a dive team to search the area and he was found in the Erie Basin near the pier just after midnight, police said.

He was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead about two hours later, police said.

"We at IKEA are devastated by this tragedy. Our hearts are with the family at this difficult time," a representative of IKEA said in a statement to Patch.

Police said that the boy's death appears to have been an accident.