US News

Video captures Avonte running from school

Tragic autistic youngster Avonte Oquendo fled his Queens school through a door left open by an adult the day he vanished, newly released surveillance video shows.

The unidentified man is seen leaving the Riverview School in Long Island City through an apparently unlocked door shortly after noon on Oct. 4, about half an hour before 14-year-old Avonte was last seen alive.

The man, in a red golf shirt and khaki pants, is seen walking out the left side of double doors at the end of a long hallway. The door remained ajar after he left.

A little more than 30 minutes later, the video shows Avonte race toward the open door, pause briefly and head outside.

A security guard is seen checking the still-open door and closing it about three minutes later.

A lawyer for Avonte’s mom, who has filed notice of a $25 million claim against the city and the Department of Education, on Wednesday called the video “more evidence of incompetence, gross incompetence” by school officials.

Lawyer David Perecman said that autistic kids have a tendency to wander, and that the double doors — which open toward the water on the school’s western side — should have been kept closed and outfitted with an alarm.

“I don’t think Avonte would have run toward the door if it’s not open,” Perecman said. “An open door to an autistic child is an invitation to proceed.”

A DOE spokeswoman declined comment.

Avonte’s dad, Daniel Oquendo, said he hadn’t seen the new video.

“All these months and new things keep on surfacing and I just really try to avoid it. It’s a tough time,” he said.

On Jan. 16, Avonte’s decomposed remains were found along the East River by a 19-year-old photography student who was taking pictures at Powell’s Cove Park in Queens, about 11 miles downstream from the school.

Also Wednesday, US Attorney General Eric Holder said that a $376 million-a-year federal grant program named after slain NYPD cop Edward Byrne would be modified to let parents outfit autistic kids with GPS tracking devices.

Holder’s announcement came during a congressional hearing at which he was questioned by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), who has been pushing to expand a GPS program for Alzheimer’s patients to include children with autism and other disorders.

Additional reporting by S.A. Miller