Sidy Fofana's body was found on the top of the scaffold at the River Park Towers apartment complex in the Morris Heights section just after 5 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Medical Examiner will determine the exact cause of death and the investigation is ongoing, but at this point, it's not clear exactly what happened.
Several people in the area reported hearing a very loud thump and called 911, believing that someone had fallen and needed help.
"I was just in shock, I was like, oh my God, look at this," witness Hasker Tingman said. "I just ran downstairs, and that's it. Kept looking. That's all I could do."
Investigators were trying to determine if the boy fell, jumped or was pushed.
"It's heartbreaking," neighbor Kissie Alexander said. "It's really heartbreaking. I'm a parent of seven, and I could just imagine how the mother would feel if it would happen."
