MINNEAPOLIS — Monday’s settlement was reached by the Mall of America in Minneapolis with the family of a boy severely injured after a man with a history of causing disturbances at mall threw him from a third-floor balcony.
The boy’s family and the mall did not release any additional details about the settlement.
The boy, , was five years old when Emmanuel Aranda threw Landen nearly 40 feet to the floor. Aranda, who was banned from Bloomington, Minnesota’s mall twice previously, claimed that he went there to “seeking someone to kill” after being rejected by women. He pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree killing , and was sentenced to 19 years imprisonment for the attack upon Landen .
In a suit filed last year, the family claimed that Aranda should not have “prowled” at the mall without an officer watching him closely. According to the lawsuit, the mall and its security team knew of Aranda’s previous violent, aggressive and erratic behavior at the shopping center.
The family and the mall jointly announced the settlement in a joint statement. They also stated that they would work together to change policies to prevent similar incidents.
The statement stated that “Mall of America has agreed to work with the family with a focus of safety and are already jointly pursuing policy modifications to existing trespass limit for violent criminals in order to give greater capability to prevent such persons from their premises.”
Unspecified damages were sought in the lawsuit. An attorney representing the family stated that the boy had already spent more than $1.7million in medical expenses by the time the lawsuit was filed. Landen’s parents stated on their GoFundMe page that Landen had more then 15 medical procedures in 2019, including surgery for two broken arms, a broken leg, facial fractures, skull fractures, and removal of his spleen.
Monday’s statement said that the boy’s miraculous recovery was a matter of great importance and that his focus should remain on his health and well-being, which will include privacy during this period. “The family and Mall will request that any change resulting from the surgery be named in the honor of the young boy.”
