Last week, Emmanuel Aranda allegedly threw a five-year-old boy from the third floor of the Mall of America in Minnesota, according to authorities.
According to CBS, authorities had reason to hope this week.
“We have good news to share with you on this Good Friday,” said attorney Stephen Tillitt on the family’s behalf. “Our miracle child is showing real signs of recovery. New test results have been positive, though he remains in intensive care with a long road ahead.”
The boy has suffered massive head trauma along with broken arms and legs. The family has requested privacy as their son recovers, but will share updates with the family.
Aranda, 24, had no prior relationship with the boy, whose identity has been revealed against the wishes of the family. Aranda had an active warrant for his arrest in connection to an assault case from 2017, and was convicted of misdemeanors stemming from two incidents at the mall in 2015, the first of which led to a ban he would subsequently ignore, according to local media.
According to the criminal complaint from 2015, Aranda told officers that “he has some anger issues,” and that, “it does not happen all the time.”
The suspect was taken into custody at the transit station near the mall after he was seen by witnesses after the boy fell more than 40 feet. Aranda looked over the balcony several times before approaching the child and his mother, picking up the boy and throwing him.
Tuesday, Aranda appeared in a courtroom at the Hennepin County jail, and remains imprisoned on $2 million bond.
A GoFundMe campaign set up for the family has raised more than $930,000 in seven days, less than $70,000 short of its $1 million goal.
“Just know that we absolutely feel your overwhelming love, prayers and support, for they seem to be working. Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts,” Tillitt said on behalf of the family.