In April police were called at Minnesota’s Mall of America to the southeast corner of the mall to assist a child who was thrown off of the third floor level. Local FOX 9 reported that police were called at 10:17 AM to assist a child who “had fallen” and landed on the first floor. Witnesses told officers a man threw the child from the third floor balcony, then took off running. Police estimate the fall is just under 40 feet.
The suspect Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda was later arrested and charged with attempted murder.
The 5-year-old victim is white. The perpetrator is black.
Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda
Aranda later told investigators he went to the Bloomington mall “looking for someone to kill.”
On Monday Judge Jeannice Reding sentenced Emmanuel Aranda, 24, to 19 years in prison for attempted murder of the 5-year-old child.
The UPI reported:
A man who threw a 5-year-old boy from a third-floor balcony in Minnesota’s Mall of America was sentenced to nearly two decades in prison on Monday.
Judge Jeannice Reding sentenced Emmanuel Aranda, 24, to 19 years in prison, the maximum amount agreed upon in his plea deal after he pleaded guilty to throwing the young boy, Landen, from the mall’s balcony.
Aranda denied Reding’s offer to issue a statement to Hennepin County District Court on Monday.
The boy survived the fall, but fractured his arms and legs, and experienced severe head trauma. His parents said he still has a “long road ahead” to recovery after experiencing non-life-threatening complications from surgery.
You can donate to the victim’s family here.
Over $1,028,000 has been raised for the boy so far.
