Man charged with throwing boy over third-floor railing at Mall of America

Prosecutors say a man who threw a five-year-old boy over a third-floor railing at the Mall of America told investigators he went there last Thursday intending to kill an adult, but it didn’t “work out” and he returned the next day and chose the boy instead. 24-year-old Emmanuel Aranda from Minneapolis, who has a history of mental illness, is charged with attempted first-degree premeditated murder. He has a court appearance tomorrow (Tues) afternoon and prosecutors will ask that bail be set at two million dollars. The boy remains in critical condition at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis, with massive head trauma and multiple fractures from the 40-foot fall. Prosecutors say they’ll seek a longer sentence because of particular cruelty, the boy’s vulnerability and the crime being committed in front of other children and the boy’s mother.