Boy Thrown From Mall Of America Balcony In Random, Unprovoked Attack Now Walking, Back In School, Family Says

The family of the boy thrown from a third-floor balcony at Minnesota‘s Mall of America in an unprovoked attack last August is walking and attending school, CNN reports. The boy’s mother says that he is tired of her asking if he’s better.

In April, when the boy, identified as Landen Hoffman, was four, he and his mother were at the famed shopping center in suburban Minneapolis, minding their own business, when a stranger walked up to them. Then, in a hideous and unprovoked attack, the stranger threw the boy over the balcony.

Initially, as the family wrote on a GoFundMe page, he wasn’t expected to survive, as the family noted that many people who fall from that great of a distance don’t live to tell about it. He would later undergo multiple surgeries for head trauma and broken bones.

He wasn’t even allowed to leave the hospital until August, and when he did leave, he came home with a limp, uneven legs due to a broken femur, and a wound on his abdomen. He would still have multiple rounds of physical therapy ahead of him.

Now, seven months after the attack and three months after he’s been released from the hospital, he’s tired of his mother asking if he’s better, the family says.

“When his mommy asks him if she can look at his wound or asks how he’s doing, he always responds with ‘Mom, I’m healed, you don’t need to ask me anymore,'” a spokesperson for the family wrote.

Continued prayers for Landen Hoffman, as he takes one day at a time, during his long road to recovery… Sending much love ?? #PrayersForLanden #LandenHoffman pic.twitter.com/ykjdCJjj4K

— Mickey Van Deren (@LtGovMickey) June 3, 2019

The family spokesperson goes on to say that he is walking perfectly and is thrilled to be going to kindergarten.

“He loves being back to school and going to kindergarten at the same school his twin brother and sister go to. He gets out of the car every morning happy and blows kisses all the way in! He’s a strong, happy boy,” the spokesperson writes.

The family’s statement went on to note that Landen seems to be aware, in a way that only a five-year-old can be, that he’s something of a celebrity. The statement says that the young lad knows that people all over the world have been praying for him, and that he loves all of the cards that he keeps getting in the mail.

As for Landen’s assailant: as previously reported by The Inquisitr, Emmanuel Aranda later pleaded guilty to the crime and was sentenced to 19 years in prison. He told a court that he had gone to the mall that day “looking for someone to kill.”