Toddler dies after fall from Chicago high-rise

CHICAGO - A toddler died Tuesday after falling from the balcony of a high-rise building in the Bronzeville neighborhood.

At about 11:45 a.m., authorities received a report of a 3-year-old girl who had fallen from the ninth floor of the Lake Meadows apartment building in the 500 block of East 33rd Place, according to Chicago police.

Residents say the mother of the child was seen coming out of the building very distraught and frantic.

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"I saw them bring in a little girl from the side of the building, blood all over her face and her eyes were open, so I kinda was thinking she was either in shock or gone. They put her in the ambulance and that was it," one resident said. 

She was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in critical condition, but was later pronounced dead, police said.

The toddler was identified as 3-year-old Rufda Sahle.

Marketia Brown and her daughter heard the family panicking outside.

"The mom was down there holding her head. Me being a parent, I felt everything she felt," Brown said.

Police were on scene for hours speaking with witnesses and collecting evidence. The 12-story-building includes more than 100 units, with many families from various countries.

Neighbors were devastated.

FOX 32 reached out to Lake Meadows Property Management for comment, but did not hear back.

Detectives are conducting a death investigation to determine the circumstances of the incident.