U.S. News

Man Throws Small Child From Mall of America Balcony

Reporter Eden Smith

24 year old man throws 5 year old boy off 40 foot mall balcony in Minnesota

Friday, April 12th, Emmanuel Aranda, 24 was apprehended at a nearby light rail transit station by police after throwing a 5 year old boy from the third story mall balcony into the court below.

Aranda fled from the scene, leaving the boy’s mother screaming for help on the third story. Authorities arrived and the boy was taken to a local Minneapolis hospital where he still remains fighting for his life, with confirmed brain trauma and a multitude of broken bones.

When taken in officers said Aranda appeared "calm" as he was arrested, never resisted and did not questioned why he was taken into custody.

Aranda told investigators he was "looking for someone to kill, but it did not 'work out'" Aranda said he came up with a plan to "kill someone at the mall" on Thursday. Evidence indicated that he was hostile because women at the mall had previously rejected him.

Officials stated "He said he planned to kill an adult, because they usually stand near the balcony, but he chose the victim instead," “[He] indicated he had been coming to the mall for several years and had made efforts to talk to women in the mall, but had been rejected, and the rejection caused him to lash out and be aggressive.”

After the incident the boy’s family asked to remain private in the case due to the boys age, but since have released his name and thanked the public for all their prayers and donations.

Folks from around the world have raised over 500,000 dollars on GoFundMe for Landen and his family in hopes of relieving some pressure from medical bills, and other expenses. Their is also a large mound of stuffed animals, signs, and toys in the center of the bottom court of the Mall of America where Landen fell.

People hope that Landen will gain the strength to enter the mall once again with the strength and safety of hundreds of followers behind him.

Emmanuel Aranda was charged Monday with first-degree attempted premeditated murder. Aranda has had many previous aggravated assault charges and was banned from the mall for a year back in 2015 due to his hostile behavior towards women and staff.

Aranda’s hearing was set to May 14th, and he is currently being held with $2,000,000 (2 million dollar) bail.