By Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN – Mayor Michael Bloomberg discouraged New Yorkers from casting blame Monday over the horrifying death of an infant who was struck by a Central Park tree branch while in her mother's arms.
The freak occurrence was likely "an act of God," the mayor asserted, according to the New York Times.
It was also the third incident of its kind in less than a year – a 56-year old Brooklyn man was killed by a falling limb last February and three women were injured in a similar accident last month, both in Central Park.
Still, the mayor emphasized the futility of prevention, insisting that park keepers were not to blame.
“It’s very tragic, and trying to assign blame isn’t really something that we should be focusing on,” the mayor said, according to the Times.
“Only if you cut down every single tree in the city down to ground level can you guarantee that nothing’s going to fall,” he added, the paper said. “Unfortunately, nature works that way.”
6-month-old Gianna Riccuitti and her mother, Karla DelGallo, 33, were posing for a picture last Saturday, when they were hit by the falling branch from a tree outside the Central Park Zoo.
The tree, which falls under the Wildlife Conservation Society's jurisdiction, had been pruned twice since December, city officials told the Times.
