Man in custody after child thrown from balcony at Mall of America: cops
A 5-year-old boy was either thrown or pushed off a balcony at the Mall of America in Minnesota on Friday and a man has been taken into custody by cops, according to police.
Bloomington police were called to the massive shopping facility around 10 a.m. local time.
At least one shopper said a woman was screaming after the unidentified suspect hurled her child over the balcony’s edge and landed on the first floor, news station WCCO reported.
“She was screaming ‘Everyone pray, everyone pray. Oh my God, my baby, someone threw him over the edge,’” Brian Johnson told the news station.
The 24-year-old suspect took off running after the incident and assaulted an older man who tried to apprehend him, The Star Tribune reported.
Police said the suspect was quickly found inside the mall and brought in for questioning.
“At this time, we do not believe that there is a relationship between the child or the family of the child,” Bloomington Chief of Police Jeff Potts said at Friday press conference.
Initial reports to dispatchers indicated the child wasn’t breathing, and several bystanders attempted CPR on him, the Star Tribune reported.
Tina Hailey said she was walking past the Macy’s on the first floor with her husband when they came upon the horrifying scene. The victim’s mother was uncontrollably wailing and “didn’t know what to do,” she said.
“I won’t forget it. It was horrific,” Hailey told Star Tribune. “I hope he survived.”
Responding officers performed first aid on the child, who suffered significant injuries, before they brought him to Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis.
The child’s family is at the hospital but no information was immediately available about his condition, news station KARE reported.
Some portions of the 4.2 million-square-foot mall remained cordoned off Friday afternoon as officials processed the scene. Witnesses said there was a large pool of blood on the ground, according to WCCO.
No motive has been released, but authorities said it appeared to be an isolated incident.
“We don’t believe there is a threat to the public at this point,” Potts said.
investigators said they’re looking at surveillance footage obtained from the mall.
“We’re actively trying to figure out why this occurred,” Potts said.
The Mall of America released a statement Friday afternoon saying security “responded immediately” to the child’s fall.
“Any additional information about the incident will come from Bloomington Police Department,” a spokesperson said.
With Wires