"My Grandson Leandro" Robert De Niro 19 Yrs Old Grandson Found Dead

Robert De Niro's 19-year-old grandson has died, the family said.

In a statement, De Niro said he was "deeply distressed by the passing of my beloved grandson," Leandro Anthony De Niro-Rodriguez.

"We’re greatly appreciative of the condolences from everyone," De Niro said. "We ask that we please be given privacy to grieve our loss of Leo.”  

Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro.Noam Galai / Getty Images for Tribeca Festival file

A cause of death was not announced.

 

The New York City Police Department said De Niro-Rodriguez was found unconscious just after 2:20 p.m. Sunday at 55 Wall St. in lower Manhattan. Emergency medical personnel pronounced him dead at the scene, police said. 

 by 

the office of the 

chief medical examiner, where a spokesperson could not immediately be reached Monday.

The NYPD said De Niro-Rodriguez was 18 years old, but a representative for Robert De Niro said he was 19.

In a statement provided to NBC News, Drena De Niro, De Niro’s daughter and the mother of De Niro-Rodriguez, said: “It is with immeasurable shock and sadness that we say goodbye to our beloved son Leo. We thank you for the outpouring of love and support and ask that we are given privacy at this time to process this inconsolable grief.”

Drena De Niro posted an Instagram tribute to her son Sunday night, calling him "my beautiful sweet angel."

"I have loved you beyond words or description from the moment I felt you in my belly," she wrote. "You have been my joy my heart and all that was ever pure and real in my life. I wish I was with you right now."

"I don’t know how to live without you but I’ll try to go on and spread the love and light that you so made me feel in getting to be your mama," she continued. "You were so deeply loved and appreciated and I wish that love alone could have saved you."