A mother is demanding answers after her autistic 6-year-old boy went missing from school in Brooklyn.
Asmaa Awawda thought the worst when a bus driver called her on Friday asking whether she'd already picked up son Ibrahim Safi from P77K, which is housed inside PS164 in Borough Park.
Ibrahim is autistic and has trouble communicating.
"You have to keep your eyes on him," she said. "He doesn't know how to cross the street, any car or truck could hit him."
Worried, Awawda called the school, but her phone call went unanswered, she said. More than an hour later, after she'd called her son's teacher and special aid's cell phones, she still had no idea where he was.
It wasn't until a stranger phoned her that she knew he was safe. The man had found Ibrahim roaming the halls of an apartment building three blocks from the school. She said the man had spotted Ibrahim as the boy walked up the stairs leading to the roof.
"It was like my son was between life and death," Awawda said.
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Now the mother is demanding answers from the school. She met with the Department of Education on Tuesday, and she says while they apologized to her she isn't satisfied.
"They didn't have any answers... I want to know how my son left the school," she said.
Meanwhile the department released a statement saying safety is a top priority.
"The school activated the missing student protocol and followed the proper procedure. We take this very seriously, are looking into this troubling incident and will ensure it’s addressed.”
However child advocate Theresa Monforte, who says she used to work for the department, said it was unlikely Asmaa would ever get answers on how exactly Ibrahim was able to slip away that day.
Ibrahim has not been back to school since the incident, and his mother is trying to find a new school for him.
