The 5-year-old boy who was thrown off a third-floor balcony at the Mall of America in Minnesota is showing “real signs of recovery,” according to a post on behalf of the family.
“Our miracle child Landen is showing real signs or recovery. New test results have been positive, though he remains in intensive care with a long road ahead. Our faith in God, and our Savior Jesus, is strong and we are gaining more reason for optimism day by day. We continue our request for privacy as we focus on Landen and thank you for respecting our wishes,” part of the post on a GoFundMe page says.
The post says the boy has a long recovery ahead, with many surgeries.
Emmanuel Aranda, 24, of Minneapolis, is accused of throwing the young child off the mall balcony and is charged with attempted murder.
According to a criminal complaint, the boy and his mother were outside the Rain Forest Café when Aranda came up close to them. The mother had never seen Aranda before, and she asked if she and her son should move.
Instead, Aranda picked up the boy and threw him over the railing, the complaint states.
Aranda told police he had come to the mall a day earlier intending to kill an adult, but that did not “work out,” according to the complaint.
So he returned Friday and apparently chose the boy instead.
Aranda told police he knew what he was planning to do was wrong. He explained he had visited the mall for years, trying to speak to women there, but they rejected him. Aranda said that made him lash out.
CNN’s Sheena Jones, Holly Yan and Madeline Holcombe contributed to this report.