A mother has been taken into custody after throwing her 11-year-old son from the fourth-floor balcony of her apartment, police in St. Paul, Minnesota, said.

Officers responded Monday morning to a call from someone who lives in the apartments who originally reported the incident as an attempted suicide. But after they conducted interviews with the boy's younger brother, his mother, and her girlfriend, officers concluded something much more sinister had occurred.

"Through the course of their interviews and investigations they discovered [the suspect] had gone into the child's bedroom, dragged him out of his bunk bed and thrown him off the balcony," St. Paul Police spokesperson Steve Linders told KARE-TV. "We don't know what would make someone do this or why [the suspect] would do that."

Linders added that the mother, Itayvia Demetiric Lloyd, 33, admitted to the crime but has refused to explain why during interviews.

The scene was traumatic

When the officers arrived they found the child on the ground, conscious and breathing but suffering from a multitude of injuries, including a broken femur, a fractured jaw, and several traumatic head injuries.

The child was able to provide details to officers about the incident at the time and instead was rushed to Regions Hospital for treatment. Police said the child is expected to survive.

Linders reported that the sight of the child on the ground was traumatic for first responders and police who responded to the incident.

"Sadly, we do see cases of child abuse like this, and there have been incredibly sad cases here in St. Paul and across the country. They're tough, tough on our officers, tough on the first responders, all of them," he said.

The suspect then allegedly assaulted police

Lloyd became aggressive with police as she was being transferred from police headquarters to Ramsey County Law Enforcement Center after being arrest Monday, Twin Cities.com-Pioneer Press reported.

According to criminal charges filed Tuesday, Lloyd tried to punch an officer during the transport and then later spat at a different officer who was trying to calm her down at the jail.

Investigation into the incident is still under way.