On April 12, 2019, a five-year-old boy named Landen Hoffmann was thrown from a third-floor balcony at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, falling roughly 40 feet to the ground. He survived. The man who threw him, 24-year-old Emmanuel Aranda, told police he had come to the mall looking for someone to kill.1ABC News. Mom of Son Thrown Off Balcony at Mall of America Speaks Aranda pleaded guilty to attempted premeditated first-degree murder and was sentenced to 19 years in prison.2Fox 5 DC. Man Who Threw Boy at Mall of America Sentenced to 19 Years in Prison Landen, now 11, is healthy and has no memory of the fall.3New York Post. Landen Hoffmann Thriving Six Years After Attack, Says Mother Kari
What Happened at the Mall
Landen was visiting the mall with his mother, Kari Hoffmann, on the morning of April 12, 2019. They were near the Rainforest Café on the third floor when Aranda approached, grabbed the boy, and threw him over the balcony railing.1ABC News. Mom of Son Thrown Off Balcony at Mall of America Speaks The child fell roughly 40 feet.4Fox 13 News. Boy, 5, Thrown From a Mall of America Balcony Is Walking Perfectly, Family Says Bystanders found him breathing with a heartbeat. He was rushed by ambulance to the hospital, where he underwent emergency brain trauma surgery.
Who Emmanuel Aranda Was
Aranda already had a history at the Mall of America. Two prior assault convictions came from incidents there in 2015, and he had been banned from the property at least twice before the attack on Landen.56ABC. Mall of America Suspect Was Looking for Someone to Kill6New York Post. Mall of America Settles Suit From Landen Hoffmann’s Family He had been ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation in his 2015 cases, and his attorney later said he had been assigned to the Criminal Mental Health Court in Hennepin County over a separate case involving the harassment of a library employee. He served six months in custody on that charge and was placed on probation.7Star Tribune. Suspect in Mall of America Attack Was Twice Ordered to Stay Away From Mall8CBS News. Emmanuel Aranda Pleads Guilty to Throwing 5-Year-Old Boy From Balcony
After the attack, Aranda told police he was angry over rejection by women at the mall, saying it “caused him to lash out and be aggressive.” He said he had come to the mall the day before intending to kill someone but that it “did not work out.” He had originally planned to target an adult and chose the child instead.56ABC. Mall of America Suspect Was Looking for Someone to Kill
The Guilty Plea and Sentence
Aranda pleaded guilty to attempted premeditated first-degree murder on May 14, 2019.9Valley News Live. 19 Years for Man Who Threw Child Off MOA Balcony10ABC 30. Man Sentenced in Throwing Boy, 5, From Mall of America Balcony
Minnesota Department of Corrections records list Aranda at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Rush City, with a projected release date of November 6, 2038.11Minnesota Department of Corrections. Offender Details – Emmanuel Aranda
Landen’s Injuries and Recovery
The fall left Landen with a broken skull, broken facial bones, two broken arms, a broken leg, and frontal lobe brain trauma.3New York Post. Landen Hoffmann Thriving Six Years After Attack, Says Mother Kari He spent the next four months in intensive care and went through more than a dozen surgeries.4Fox 13 News. Boy, 5, Thrown From a Mall of America Balcony Is Walking Perfectly, Family Says He was discharged in August 2019 and started kindergarten five days later.1ABC News. Mom of Son Thrown Off Balcony at Mall of America Speaks By November 2019, his family said he was walking without difficulty. Full physical rehabilitation took about three years.
Kari Hoffmann has spoken about the harder-to-see effects. The frontal lobe injury changed her son’s personality during recovery, and she said he had to “learn who he was again” before returning to himself. As of April 2025, Landen is 11, described by his mother as healthy and happy, and has no memory of the attack.3New York Post. Landen Hoffmann Thriving Six Years After Attack, Says Mother Kari
The Lawsuit Against Mall of America
In July 2021, the Hoffmann family sued the Mall of America, alleging the mall failed to secure its premises. The complaint pointed to Aranda’s prior bans from the property and to what it described as “suspicious and unusual” behavior at the mall the day before the attack. At filing, the family said medical expenses had already topped $1.75 million, and it sought additional damages for future medical costs, pain and suffering, lost future income, and mental anguish.12CBS News Minnesota. Mall of America Boy Thrown From Balcony Lawsuit Settlement
The case settled on December 5, 2022. Financial terms are confidential. In a joint statement, the family and the mall said they would work together to pursue changes to “existing trespass limits for violent criminals” so the mall could better keep such individuals off its property, and both sides asked that any resulting policy changes be named in Landen’s honor.12CBS News Minnesota. Mall of America Boy Thrown From Balcony Lawsuit Settlement1ABC News. Mom of Son Thrown Off Balcony at Mall of America Speaks