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Boy thrown from Mall of America balcony has returned home after nearly 5 months

A 5-year-old boy who was thrown from a balcony at the Mall of America in April has returned home from the hospital.
/ Source: TODAY

The family of a 5-year-old boy who was thrown from a balcony at the Mall of America in April announced that he has returned home after nearly five months in the hospital.

"We are pleased to share that our son completed his inpatient rehabilitation and is now home," the family wrote Tuesday on an online fundraising page for his medical expenses. "We are so thankful, and we rejoice in the Lord’s blessings to our family.

"We continue to ask that His healing powers guide us and our son’s care team as we enter the next phase of recovery, which includes continued outpatient rehabilitation for multiple injuries and adjusting to life back at home and school."

It's the latest positive update on the boy, identified only as Landen, after the family announced last month that he had been removed from intensive care to undergo an inpatient physical rehabilitation program.

In late June, the family said that Landen was on "a challenging road to recovery" after undergoing more than 15 medical procedures and surgeries.

The boy was thrown down about 40 feet from a third-floor balcony at the famous mall in Minnesota on April 12 by Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, authorities said.

Aranda, 24, was sentenced to 19 years in prison on June 3 for first-degree attempted murder.

He told police he had come to the mall looking to kill someone after women there had rejected his advances and decided to hurt the boy after initially targeting an adult.

The family announced in late April that Landen was on the road to recovery after he was no longer in critical condition.

Two months later, they detailed his injuries, including surgeries for two broken arms and a broken leg, removal of his spleen, procedures for fluid in his lungs and stomach, as well as for facial and skull fractures, and having a stent placed in a vein that runs through his liver.

An online fundraiser for the boy has raised more than $1 million to help cover the medical bills.

"Thank you to all of you who prayed for us and loved us during the past 4 ½ months,'' the family wrote on Tuesday. "You helped to give us hope and show us the Glory of God’s great love here on earth even during the darkest of days."