By EDDIE D'ANNA, MAURA GRUNLUND,

IRENE SPEZZAMONTE, AMANDA STEEN

LAUREN STEUSSY and VICTORIA PRIOLA

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A senior citizen who apparently pushed a chair to the second-floor railing at the Staten Island Mall and jumped over has died from injuries sustained in the fall, police said.

The victim's identity has not been released, but a law enforcement source described him as an 84-year-old male.

Police and firefighters rushed to the New Springville shopping complex after the 11:19 a.m. incident.

According to preliminary police information and multiple witnesses, the man pushed a chair from a nearby seating area up to the railing in front of the Torrid clothing store on the second-floor of the Sears wing, climbed up and jumped over.

He landed in front of the Gap.

An off-duty firefighter who was shopping in the mall immediately ran over to the man, who was lying face down and bleeding heavily, a source at the scene said.



Emergency responders arrived within minutes and rushed him to a Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze in critical condition.

He was pronounced dead a short time later.

The man had white hair and was wearing a dark Adidas track jacket.

A pool of blood was visible by the Gap, and a lone chair could be seen against the railing in front of Torrid.

Police and mall security workers roped off both scenes with yellow tape and temporarily closed stores in the area.

The incident unfolded in front of shocked mall employees and shoppers.

"I had a customer and she told me she saw a man on a chair," said Auntie Anne's worker Jennifer Jimenez. "I tried to call for help but it was too late."

She said the man put one leg over the railing, and then his entire body.

"We were in shock," she said. "It was horrible."

LIVE: Video of witness describing tragic fall inside Staten Island Mall. pic.twitter.com/qvxx7OWsvO — SIAdvance (@siadvance) June 28, 2016

Another witness, who only identified herself as Sherry, said she was on her way to the food court when it happened.

She said the man wasn't moving, several people came running over and someone attempted to perform CPR.

Mall employee Kevin Ball said he called 911 as soon as he saw the man hit the floor.

He said the victim sustained massive head injuries and there was "blood everywhere."

"It was bad," he said.