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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
William McGee & Benjamin Lynch

Boy, 6, drowns in river after dad bottled and knocked unconscious during robbery

A young boy has downed in a river when his father was unable to save him after being bottled during a robbery.

The child, only six years old, drowned in St. Johann in Tirol, Austria in the early hours of August 29.

His dad, 37, is reported to have been pushing along his buggy when he was hit on the head by a bottle by an unidentified man, causing him to fall unconscious onto the ground at around 4am

Little Leon, who suffered from the rare genetic condition SYNGAP1 and severe learning disabilities ended up looking around confused.

His father is reported to have often taken him on early morning walks as a way of calming him down.

Police have not yet spoken to Leon's father, who is recovering in hospital (Newsflash)

Walking around, it appears Leon then fell into the nearby Kitzbueheler Ache river and drowned.

An autopsy confirmed his cause of death and no signs of external violence were found

He was found after a team of helpers that included search dogs, firefighters and police went looking for him.

Authorities believe he climbed out of his wheelchair and fell into the river and was swept roughly 600 metres downstream from his stricken dad.

They said: "The child may have gotten out of the stroller by himself and accidentally fell into the Kitzbühler Ache, where he was found dead."

Leon had the genetic condition SYNGAP1 (Newsflash)
Leon suffered from a learning disability (Newsflash)

The awful crime was not discovered until around an hour later when a person passing by found Leon's father coming to on the ground at 5.20am.

Reports say the dad was unable to remember what happened but immediately began to ask about the whereabouts of his son. Leon's pushchair was nowhere to be seen.

Police have not yet spoken to the father, according to reports, and he is still recovering from the incident in a hospital and is being given psychological assistance.

He was found around 600 metres downstream from his dad (Newsflash)

They said: "As a result, the perpetrator may have taken the man's wallet and mobile phone and fled in an unknown direction."

The stolen items were eventually recovered near the scene.

SYNGAP1 is a disorder that affects people in different ways and with varying levels of severity. It is surprisingly common and affects around one in every 16,000 people, according to the Syngap Research Fund.

It is estimated that it makes up around one per cent of learning disabilities that do not have an obvious cause.

His dad would take him for walks as a way of calming him down (Newsflash)

Symptoms can include dyspraxia coordination disorder, autism, low muscle tone and different levels of intellectual disabilities.

Some patients may even suffer from epileptic fits.

The charity Mencap explained: "Someone with SYNGAP1 might have a short attention span, be easily distracted, act impulsively or aggressively towards themselves or others. They may also have low muscle tone and an unsteady walk.

"Diagnosing SYNGAP1 can be tricky as many of the features can also be seen in other conditions."

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