A tragic incident at Jeanne-de-Flandre Children’s Hospital in Lille, France, has left a newborn, Zayneb-Cassandra, dead after reportedly being dropped by an unsupervised six-year-old. The five-day-old was found unconscious next to her crib with a fatal brain injury. Lille prosecutors confirmed her death was caused by trauma “consistent with a fall to the floor.”

“A six-year-old child, a member of another family, was indeed seen near the crib and the child on the floor,” officials said. Witnesses say the boy had been roaming the maternity ward alone for days, while his mother recovered from childbirth.

Delphine, another mother, said she heard a “loud bang” before finding the boy and the baby. Zayneb had already shown signs of being mishandled earlier: “She was found without a diaper or electrodes… suffering from hypothermia,” said Karima, a relative.

The family says the hospital was warned about the boy’s “abnormal behaviour.” Zayneb’s grandmother added, “All the mothers were complaining… He entered other rooms.”

The baby’s father, Mohamed-Hamza, said, “I don’t blame the child… But the hospital should have supervised him.” A criminal investigation and internal hospital review are now underway. The parents are awaiting justice: “There was a breach… I’m going to fight to identify those responsible.”