Breaking News Emails
A 5-year-old who plummeted from a Mall of America balcony Friday suffered "significant injuries," and a man suspected of pushing or throwing the child was arrested, police said.
Bloomington, Minnesota, police got reports at 10:17 a.m. that a child had fallen from a third-floor balcony at the mall and landed on the first floor.
Witnesses at the mall told officers "that the suspect, that had either pushed or possibly thrown the child, took off running immediately after the incident," Bloomington Police Chief Jeff Potts said.
Potts said officers "quickly" found the 24-year-old suspect in the mall and took him into custody.
Police said they don't believe the suspect has any relationship with the child or the child's family. Officers are still investigating the scene, and are working with mall employees to find video footage of the incident.
A Mall of America statement said that mall security responded, along with police, to reports of the child falling.
The child is being treated at Children's Minnesota hospital in Minneapolis, officials said.