Man Who Threw Boy Off ‘Mall Of America’ 3rd Floor Sentenced To 228 Months Prison

BLOOMINGTON, MN. (THECOUNT) — The man who pleaded guilty to throwing a young boy from the third floor at Mall of America was sentenced to 228 months, or 19 years, in prison.

Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, 24, of Minneapolis, was arrested at the mall’s transit station after the attack and jailed last month on a suspicion of attempted homicide charge. Potts credited bystanders and mall security for his quick capture. According to court records, Aranda had been previously barred from the Mall of America.

Last month, Aranda pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted murder for throwing 5-year-old Landen from the third floor in an act that stunned mall-goers and made national headlines. In his last court appearance, Aranda waved his right to a trial and admitted that he tried to kill Landen on April 12. As part of his plea deal, he agreed to serve 19 years in prison, reports Fox5Atlanta.

Additional information from witnesses indicated the 5-year-old might have been pushed or thrown, Potts said.

Bloomington police Chief Jeff Potts told reporters that police were called to the mall at 10:17 a.m. local time, and initial information suggested a child had fallen from the third level of the mall’s interior to the first level.

“The child did suffer significant injuries,” Potts said. “The child has been transported to the hospital and has been receiving care.”

According to police, the person suspected of pushing or throwing the child “took off running immediately after the incident.” The suspect, a 24-year-old man, was soon found inside the mall transit station and was taken into custody, according to WXYZ.\

He’s currently at the Bloomington Police Department, Potts said, and authorities don’t believe there is any further threat to the public.

“At this time, we do not believe that there is a relationship between the child or the family of the child,” Potts said, emphasizing that police believe this to be an “isolated incident.”

The suspect’s identity was not immediately provided.

The area where the fall occurred has been closed.

A GoFundMe set up for a 5-year-old child, identified only as “Landen,” who suffered life-threatening injuries after a man randomly threw him from the third floor of the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, has reached over $421,000 in less than 24 hours.

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Geo quick facts: Bloomington is the fifth largest city, as of 2016 estimates, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is located in Hennepin County on the north bank of the Minnesota River, above its confluence with the Mississippi River. Bloomington lies 10 miles south of downtown Minneapolis – Wikipedia.