Boy Thrown from Mall of America Balcony Showing Signs of Recovery
Wednesday, April 24th, 2019 -- 7:43 AM
(Gray News/AP) -The 5-year-old boy who was thrown off a third-floor balcony at the Mall of America is improving, according to a family statement to Minnesota Public Radio.“We have good news to share with you on this Good Friday,” Stephen Tillitt, a lawyer for the family, said in the statement to the media. “Our miracle child is showing real signs of recovery. New test results have been positive, though he remains in intensive care with a long road ahead. We continue our appeal for privacy as we focus on our son and thank you for respecting our wishes,” the statement read. “Just know that we absolutely feel your overwhelming love, prayers and support for they seem to be working.” The family’s pastor, Mac Hammond, said during a Good Friday sermon that the boy named Landen had a five-hour MRI. He also told the congregation that doctors described his injuries as if he fell off a bike instead of the third floor of the mall, almost 40 feet. The boy suffered broken bones, and Hammond claims doctors said there weren’t any spinal cord injuries or swelling of the brain.
The child’s family has asked for privacy. A GoFundMe page set up and is nearly at $1 million. Emmanuel Aranda, 24, of Minneapolis, is charged with attempted premeditated first-degree murder. He told police he was angry at being rejected by women at the Minnesota mall and was “looking for someone to kill,” according to a criminal complaint. Aranda did not know the family before he picked up the boy and threw him over the balcony. Aranda has two past convictions for assaults at the mall, both in 2015, including one in which he threw a glass of water and glass of tea at a woman who refused to buy him something. Aranda at one point was banned from the mall.
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