Man accused of throwing boy, 5, from Mall of America balcony didn't know child: Police

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (WGN) -- A 5-year-old boy who was thrown from a third-floor balcony at the Mall of America near Minneapolis remains hospitalized with serious injuries, authorities said Saturday.

Bloomington police Chief Jeffrey Potts said during a news conference that the boy fell nearly 40 feet after a man who apparently didn't know the boy or his family threw him off the balcony Friday. Authorities haven't released the boy's name and say his family has requested privacy.

Potts said he couldn't give an update on the boy's status, except to say that he's being cared for at the hospital and that his parents are with him. Hospital officials haven't responded to requests for a status update.

Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, 24, of Minneapolis, was arrested at the mall's transit station after the attack and is jailed on a suspicion of attempted homicide charge. Potts credited bystanders and mall security for his quick capture.

“This is a horrific situation,” Potts said.

Potts said investigators don't believe Aranda knew the boy's family and do not have a motive.

A witness, Brian Johnson, told WCCO-TV on Friday that he heard a woman scream that her child had been thrown from the balcony. He said she was screaming, “Everybody pray, everybody pray. Oh my God, my baby, someone threw him over the edge.”

Court records show that Aranda has a history of convictions for misdemeanor offenses. He was charged in two previous incidents at the mall in 2015. Potts said some of those cases were handled through mental health court, but he didn't elaborate. At one point, Aranda had a trespass notice banning him from the mall, but it was no longer in effect.

Aranda was arrested on July 4, 2015, after police said he matched the description of a man throwing things off the upper level of the Mall of America to the lower level, court records show. Police say Aranda refused to give his name and resisted arrest. Aranda also was accused of walking into a mall store and sweeping his hand across a display table, breaking glasses.