MINNEAPOLIS—A 5-year-old boy has returned home nearly five months after he was thrown from a third-floor balcony at the Mall of America in Minnesota.
The boy’s family said Tuesday on a gofundme.com site that their son has completed inpatient treatment and has returned home.
KSTP-TV reports the boy, identified only as Landen, will continue to receive outpatient rehabilitation for multiple injuries.
The Associated Press reported that Hoffman had more than 15 surgical procedures after he suffered two broken arms, a broken leg, facial and skull fractures, and injuries to his spleen from hitting the ground from nearly 40 feet above on April 12.
The family is praying for Landen’s full recovery.
Sympathy and Support
The family received an outpouring of sympathy and support since the tragedy, raising more than $1 million to help cover “immense” medical and recovery expenses needed for Landen to return to a normal life.
“Thank you to all of you who prayed for us and loved us during the past 4.5 months,” Hanneman said. “We know there is great interest in our son and our story. We respectfully ask that you allow us time and continued privacy during this great transition.”
The boy was thrown nearly 40 feet (12.2 meters) to the ground by a stranger in April.
The man who threw Landen, Emmanuel Aranda, pleaded guilty to attempted premeditated first-degree murder. He told investigators he went to the Bloomington mall “looking for someone to kill” after women had rejected his advances.
Aranda filed notice Friday to appeal his case to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
The family has already forgiven Aranda for hurting Hoffman, and said he failed to remove the joy in their lives.
“I want you to know I forgive you, not because what you did was okay, not because I want to, but because God wants me to,” the mother said, according to the family’s impact statement on GoFundMe. “I’m not letting you take any part of our family, you’re not taking our love, our joy, our peace … I refuse to be full of anger and hatred, I refuse to let you take my joy.”
The family also holds no resentment towards Aranda.
Epoch Times reporter Richard Szabo contributed to this report.
