Boy, 6, killed in Ewing apartment fire was visiting family from New York: police

Boy dead, others injured in New Jersey apartment fire

A 6-year-old boy is dead and over a dozen others were hurt in a fire at an apartment complex just outside New Jersey's capital. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time, but it's not thought to be suspicious in nature.

EWING, N.J. - A 6-year-old boy from New York was visiting family in Ewing, New Jersey when officials say he died in an accidental apartment fire Thursday night.

Jayden Gotell-Watkins was identified as the lone deadly casualty of the fire that erupted on the fourth floor of an apartment building on Lower Ferry Road.

First responders were called to the complex around 3 p.m for reports of a fire, and quickly learned that a child was trapped inside the fourth floor apartment.

Heavy smoke and flames prevented firefighters from reaching the apartment, but they eventually beat back the flames and found the child unresponsive.

He was taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center where police say he was pronounced dead.

Nearly a dozen police officers, three residents and a firefighter were taken to the hospital for minor injuries ranging from burns to smoke inhalation.

The Ewing Police Department said the officers injured in the fire have since been released. Firefighters have determined the cause of the fire to be accidental.

Crime & Public Safety Mercer County