A Texas man has been charged in the May death of his toddler son who fell from the window of a Brooklyn Center apartment, police say.

Saleban Abdullahi Duale, 30, of Irving, Texas, was charged Friday in Hennepin County Court with second-degree manslaughter in the death of the 3-year-old boy, according to a news release from the Brooklyn Center Police Department.

Police were called to the Lux Apartments in the 6100 block of Summit Drive at 10:41 a.m. May 18 on a report that a boy had fallen out of an eighth-floor living room window, according to the release. The child was declared dead at the scene.

Duale told officers that the apartment belonged to his brother, and that he was staying there with his children, police say. Duale claimed that he was watching his children in the living room and that the 3-year-old fell after Duale walked away from the space.

Officers noticed a couch in the living room was placed with its back against the window, which Duale said was where his son was sitting before falling, according to the release.

Duale’s other children were interviewed by Child Protection workers, the release said. The oldest child, 9, reported Duale had been lying in bed and was not in the living room — and that the boy pushed on the window screen before falling.

The second-oldest child, 8, reported that Duale was on the phone all day and was never seen in the living room that morning.

Duale has been summoned to appear in court and is not in custody. The investigation is ongoing, police say.

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