A 6-year-old boy from East Meadow was seriously hurt in a random attack in Queens.
Police say the attack happened in front of a home in the Kew Gardens section of Queens.
According to police, the boy, who was visiting his grandparents, was picked up and slammed into the ground by an emotionally disturbed homeless man.
Police say the victim was in the driveway of the Metropolitan Avenue house around 5 p.m. Thursday when Laurence Gendreau, 35, approached the boy and began the unprovoked attack. Relatives say the boy was waiting for a pizza delivery when he was attacked.
The victim's grandfather chased after the suspect, who was later arrested.
The boy was rushed to the Cohen Children's Medical Center in critical condition.
The victim's father, Yaakov Portnoy, says his son has a serious head injury, and a collapsed lung. He says the boy opened his eyes and lifted his fingers with a doctor's command, but he's still in the ICU and not breathing on his own.
"My siblings are praying, my extended family's praying, people I don't know are praying. They're all praying. That's all we can ask for," says Portnoy.
Meanwhile, the suspect was also taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
He's facing several charges including assault and harassment.