A man accused of throwing a boy from the balcony of the Mall of America facing a judge



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The Minnesota man accused of throwing a five-year-old boy on a third floor balcony of the Mall of America was sentenced to $ 2 million bail after an initial appearance in court on Tuesday.

Emmanuel Aranda, 24, spoke little during the hearing in a courtroom in Hennepin County Jail. He gave his name and address at the request of Judge Jeannice Reding and replied "Not at all" when the judge asked him if he had any questions.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that the address given to the judge by Aranda corresponded to the site of a Minneapolis shelter.

Emmanuel Aranda, left, appears Tuesday before a judge of the Hennepin County Jail.

Emmanuel Aranda, left, appears Tuesday before a judge of the Hennepin County Jail.
(CEDRIC HOHNSTADT)

Aranda is charged with attempted first degree murder with premeditation during the incident that occurred on Friday morning. The boy, identified only as Landen, remains in critical condition in a local hospital. A GoFundMe to help cover the family's medical expenses raised more than $ 700,000 on Tuesday afternoon.

"The family appreciates the flourishing of support throughout the country, reassuring it of the goodness of humanity and the will of God," lawyer Stephen Tillitt told reporters in a statement prepared out of prison .

Prosecutors said Mr. Aranda had told the police that he had gone to the mall the day before "looking for someone to kill", but that it was "not working". Court documents claim that Aranda had originally planned to kill an adult before choosing the child.

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Aranda has already been convicted of assaulting the mall twice in 2015, including one in which he dumped a glass of water and a glass of tea on a woman who refused to buy him anything. Aranda at one point was banned from the mall.

Court records show that Aranda was ordered to undergo a psychological assessment or treatment after the first assaults in shopping centers. The Star-Tribune reported that Aranda had previously been convicted of first-degree material damages and that he had also been arrested for assault and theft in Illinois.

The paper also reported that Aranda had told police that he "had some anger issues" after his arrest for allegedly breaking computers in a public library in Minneapolis.

Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click for more from StarTribune.com.

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