Minnesota man accused of hurling 5-year-old child from the third floor of the Mall of America

Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, 24, was previously banned from the mall.

Apr 13, 2019

Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda thegrio — Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, 24, was charged with attempted homicide. (Bloomington Police Department handout).

A 24-year-old man who was arrested and charged with attempted murder for pushing a 5-year-old child from the third floor of Minnesota’s Mall of America had previously been banned from the mall and once told cops he had anger management issues.

Witnesses told law enforcement that they saw Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, of Bloomington, Minn., shove or hurl the young child from the third interior level on the Bloomington Mall side to its first on Friday morning. The child suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to an area hospital.

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

Police said Aranda tried to get away after the incident but was found later inside of the mall’s transit station.

As to a motive, police say they don’t believe the man knew the child or family, Potts said.

A witness told WCCO that the child’s mother was heard screaming after the incident.

“She was screaming, ‘Everyone pray, everyone pray. Oh, my God, my baby, someone threw him over the edge,’” Brian Johnson told WCCO.

Aranda, who lives in the Bloomington area, has a police record, including several arrests and convictions stemming from incidents at the Mall of America. In one 2015 incident, Aranda was charged with damaging stores by throwing items from the upper level to the lower level, according to court records obtained by WCCO.

In a separate incident three months later, Aranda reportedly threw ice water and tea at a woman in a mall restaurant when she declined to buy him food, CNN reported. In this case, he started fighting with the restaurant’s manager, causing frightened diners to leave, according to CNN.

For these past charges, Aranda was banned from the mall through July 2016.

Hopefully, he will be banned permanently as a result of these latest charges.