Email Reply

An eight-year-old boy who was thrown 40ft off the Mall of America balcony has said he shows his scars to school friends who do not believe what he went through.

But Landen Hoffman, who was five at the time of the horrific attack in 2019, said he 'doesn't care' because he 'has lots of people who care about me'.

It comes as his mother said she believes 'angels were with him' when he survived the plunge in Bloomington, Minnesota, in April 2019.

She told how he was snatched 'in the blink of an eye' and she could only scream 'no' as he plummeted to the ground.

Landen suffered severe head trauma and multiple broken bones but somehow survived the plunge.

Emmanuel Aranda, 24, was sentenced to 19 years in prison after the attack - which was sparked when he was rejected by a woman.

A boy, now 8, has spoken out about his miracle survival after being thrown 40-feet off a Mall of America balcony saying he shows his scars to school friends who 'don't believe' his survival

Landen suffered severe head trauma and multiple broken bones but survived the potentially deadly plunge much to the disbelief and relief of others

The mother of a boy who was thrown over a balcony at the Mall of America speaks exclusively with

Landen broke his silence for the first time since the incident in an interview with alongside his mother Carrie Hoffman.

The family have vowed to prevent similar attacks, after agreeing on a settlement with the mall last week.

'I tell them that it was me that got thrown and they said 'really' then I show them everything on me and then they believe it,' Landen said.

'Sometimes some people don't believe it, but I don't care if they do or not.

• Previous
• 1
• Next

• Mall of America settles lawsuit with family of boy, 5, who... Mother and young son are found dead near their home after...

'I just care that lots of people do care about me, 남자 쇼핑몰 and I care about them too.'

Carrie spoke about the traumatizing incident, starting by describing the moment she watched her son launched from the building.

'A stranger came up and 남자 쇼핑몰 was whispering to these two little boys,' she said.

'[It] happened in a blink of an eye, he snatched them and ran, and I was just frozen. You can't react, it happened so fast, then I screamed 'no' after he was already thrown.'

Landen's mother Carrie Hoffman also broke her silence on the traumatizing incident describing the moment she watched her son launched from the building

The now eight-year-old's mother went on to say that all the doctors had told her that her son's survival was no short of a miracle

Carrie said that she was praying to God for 'complete healing and 남자 쇼핑몰 restoration' adding that she wanted to see her son leave hospital walking not in a wheelchair

In a joint statement announcing last week's settlement, the mall and the family said they will work together on policy changes to prevent similar incidents

Carrie said she was praying to God for 'complete healing and restoration' adding that she wanted to see her son leave hospital walking not in a wheelchair.

'He caught himself, he landed, that's why his arms were broken and his nose was smooshed,' she said. 'I believe that angels caught him because I prayed for angels coming in there.'

She went on to say that all the doctors had told her that her son's survival was nothing short of a miracle. 'All of them said this was a miracle he should not be here.'

Emmanuel Aranda, 24, pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder and was sentenced to 19 years in prison for the attack on the young boy, now 8

Aranda pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder and was sentenced to 19 years in prison for the attack on the boy.

Aranda, who had been banned from the mall in two other instances, told investigators he committed that horrific act after 'a woman rejected his advances.'

As part of the settlement, the Mall of America has promised to toughen its trespassing policies.

The family alleged in a lawsuit filed last year mall security should have prevented Aranda from 'prowling' at the building without an officer following him closely.

The lawsuit also claimed the mall and its security detail knew about previous 'violent, aggressive, and erratic' behavior that Aranda had displayed at the shopping center.

Carrie said that despite the brutal attack on her son, she forgives Aranda. 

'I refuse to be full of anger and hatred. I refuse to let [him] take my joy. My sweet, precious baby, my amazing gift from god is going to be okay,' she told Good Morning America.