Prosecutors say the suspect who threw a child off balcony went to Mall of America 'looking for someone to kill'
According to court documents, Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda went to the Mall of America looking to kill an adult and the 5-year-old boy was not his original target; Alicia Acuna reports.
The family of the 5-year-old boy who was thrown off a third-floor balcony at the Mall of America earlier this month won’t comment on a pastor’s statement that the child miraculously showed “zero evidence” of a brain injury.
Stephen Tillett, an attorney for relatives of Landen Hoffman, said during a news conference Tuesday he was not authorized to confirm or deny comments made by Pastor Mac Hammond in a video posted to Facebook, the Star Tribune reported.
FAMILY OF BOY THROWN FROM MALL OF AMERICA BALCONY THANKS SUPPORTERS FOR PRAYERS
Hammond, pastor of the Living World Christian Center in Brooklyn Park, Minn., where the boy’s grandparents attend services, said the boy’s grandfather told him an MRI indicated no brain damage, spinal cord injury, nerve damage or other life-threatening internal injuries.
Landen Hoffman, the 5-year-old boy who was thrown nearly 40 feet from the third story balcony at the Mall of America, is said to be making a miraculous recovery. (Christian Broadcasting Service)
According to Hammond, the grandfather told him one of the attending physicians said, “This is truly a miracle. It’s like he fell off a bicycle instead of off the third floor of the mall.”
Tillitt said he couldn't confirm or deny Hammond’s comments, as it would invade the Hoffmans' privacy, but he clarified that the bicycle remark referred to the boy’s facial injuries, not his overall condition.
MINNESOTA TODDLER TOSSED FROM BALCONY HAVING MIRACULOUS RECOVERY, PASTOR SAYS
“The family is in a position where any comment to confirm or deny would be intruding on the realm of the privacy they want,” Tillitt said. "To start going into details of any kind, confirming or denying, means that the privacy has been intruded upon.
“This is a young child whose health is now becoming public, and the family realizes that what’s public today will be public in 20 years.”
This undated photo provided by the Bloomington, Minn., Police Department, shows Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, who was arrested in connection with an incident at the Mall of America where a 5-year-old boy plummeted three floors Friday, April 12, 2019, after being pushed or thrown from a balcony. (Bloomington Police Department via AP)
Landen remains under sedation in intensive care, with more testing to come, Tillitt said.
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A GoFundMe page created by a friend of the Hoffman family has raised nearly $1 million for Landen’s healing process.
Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, 24, of Minneapolis, has been charged with attempted premeditated first-degree murder for the April 12 incident. He is being held in lieu of $2 million bail at the Hennepin County Jail.
Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
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