1 Year Ago, Emmanuel Aranda Threw 5-Year-Old Boy From Third-Story In Mall Of America
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- It's been one year since a Twin Cities family's lives changed forever during a trip to Mall of America. A then 5-year-old boy named Landen was thrown from the third floor balcony at Mall of America by a stranger.
The child suffered numerous broken bones, head trauma and severe bleeding. Paramedics revived the child and rushed him to Children's Hospital. He spent four-and-a-half months in the hospital.
On Sunday, Landen's father posted an update to Landen's GoFundMe page that said "My family is living proof that miracles happen."
As a one-year update on Landen's story, I've decided to share my journal on how I felt on Easter last year, which was day 9 in his healing journey. Landen was still intubated and fighting for his life. This year Easter is on April 12, which is the one-year anniversary of this horrific event that I now call "the day God sent his Angels to save my son."
Landen turned 6 in January.
Emmanuel Aranda said he went to the mall intent on killing someone. According to the criminal complaint, he told investigators that he was angry for the way women at the mall rebuffed his attempt to talk.
Unable to find an adult victim, he chose instead to grab the 5-year-old boy named Landen and throw him over the third floor railing, 40 feet to the concrete floor below.
Aranda pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder. In June, he was sentenced to 19 years in prison.