A 28-year-old Glasgow man, Frederick Danquah, has received a 10-year prison sentence following his conviction for attempting to murder a two-year-old child by stepping in front of a train with him. Danquah brought the toddler to east Glasgow railway station, Garrowhill station, in July 2023. Danquah placed the small child on his shoulders before stepping into the path of an oncoming train which ultimately struck them both.

The incident occurred following the breakdown of Danquah's relationship with his partner, who had recently told Danquah about her new relationship and made it clear that they would not be reconciling. On the day of the incident, Danquah picked up the boy from a relative and posted a message on Facebook saying he could not "continue to live in this darkness". Before the near fatal incident, Danquah was stopped by police earlier in the day, as he attempted to carry the boy over a fence of a bridge overlooking the M8.

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Fortunately, the child was left with only minor abrasions on the forehead, head, back, face and nose and has been able to make a full recovery. Danquah himself sustained more dramatic injuries including fractures to his lower spine and his jaw. Despite the claims of Danquah and his legal team that his mental illness prevented him from understanding the severity and depravity of his actions at the time, he was found guilty of attempted murder last month. Tony Kelly, who presided over the trial at the High Court in Glasgow, acknowledged that Danquah was found to have an “adjustment order” yet contested that it was not enough to rid him of his responsibility.

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During sentencing, Kelly added: "You endangered the life of the boy, You intended to take his life… You meant to have his mother attend his funeral."

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Chief Insp Marc Francey said the child was now doing well, though officers could have "easily been looking at a very different investigation."

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The British Transport Police officer added: "Danquah's actions that day were incomprehensible…He deliberately put a young child's life in extreme danger and it is only through sheer luck that he wasn't seriously injured or killed."

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