5-year-old boy thrown off Mall of America balcony recovering, will be shifted from intensive care to rehab centre
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: The family of a five-year-old boy who survived being thrown from a balcony at the Mall of America in Minnesota in April has revealed that the child is on the road to recovery. Landen Hoffman, of Woodbury, has been reportedly been moved out of intensive care and is now recuperating as part of a rehabilitation program at another hospital.
24-year-old Emmanuel Aranda was arrested for the attack by Bloomington police on the light-rail train outside the mall. Aranda, clearly a very troubled individual, allegedly told authorities that he had spent several years being rejected by women at the mall and he went there looking for someone to kill as revenge.
According to the Daily Mail, a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County on July 29 states that Landen and his mother were standing outside a restaurant when Aranda came close to them, picked up the child and tossed him over the balcony. The complaint also says that Aranda told police he had been coming to the mall for several years seeking to talk to women but had constantly been rejected, causing him to lash out.
Aranda reportedly pleaded guilty to attempted premeditated first-degree murder and received a 19-year prison sentence. Court records show that Aranda has a history of violence, having been arrested on July 4, 2015, after police reportedly said he matched the description of a man throwing things off the upper level of the Mall of America to the lower level. Aranda was also accused of walking into a store at the mall and breaking glasses by sweeping his hand across a display table.
In October 2015, Aranda was reportedly accused of throwing glasses in Twin Cities Grill in the mall. The 2015 complaint reportedly states that Aranda approached a woman who was waiting for the restaurant to open and asked her to buy him something. When the woman refused, Aranda allegedly threw a glass of water in her face and a glass of tea that struck her leg.
Aranda was banned from the mall till July 4, 2016, under a trespass notice. Police have also revealed that there is another warrant for Aranda's arrest in Illinois for assault stemming from an incident at a Chicago restaurant when he allegedly threatened to slit an employee's neck.
The Hoffman family has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the young boy's medical bills and expenses. The page has raised over $1million in donations so far.
“There is hard work ahead! And, our beautiful boy has endured much already, but he is strong and his spirit remains vibrant,” the family said in an update on the page.
The five-year-old reportedly fell nearly 40 feet and landed on the stone floor of the shopping center in Bloomington and was immediately rushed to a children's hospital in Minneapolis
He suffered two broken arms, a broken leg and a skull fracture as well as some small internal bleeding. Miraculously, the child did not suffer any life-threatening injuries.
According to Fox9, Pastor Mac Hammond - who knows the family- revealed that there were no signs of brain damage.
“There was zero evidence of brain damage - there wasn't even swelling,” Hammond revealed. “No spinal chord injury, no nerve damage, no internal injuries that were life-threatening.”
Landen continues to recuperate from his injuries and is expected to make a full recovery.