An 11-year-old girl from The Bronx was severely burned in a horrific incident. Friends of the girl poured searing hot water on her in as part of a “social media stunt.” A 12-year-old girl has been arrested and charged with felony assault.
According to details provided by law enforcement and the victim’s family, she was invited to a sleepover at one of her friend’s house. As the victim was sleeping, the 12-year-old poured the pan of hot water over her, who was awoken by the excruciating pain from the water. The girl suffered burns to her face, back, shoulders, and chest.
Her family says she is in good spirits as she receives treatment for the severe burns, however, she has not been allowed to see the burns on her face and is unaware of how much damage the scalding water caused.
The victim’s mother told new media that the girl who poured the hot water on her daughter had bullied her daughter in the past, including incidents on Snapchat. However, when the girl invited the victim to the sleepover, the victim thought they were all friends.
The 12-year-old has allegedly admitted that she did not like the victim and wanted to hurt her with the water.
Police say that the incident was part of a dangerous social media stunt, called the “hot water challenge” where an unsuspecting person has boiling hot water poured over them. There are several other variations, including one where people attempt to drink boiling water.
Last month, an 8-year-old Florida girl and her cousin were watching YouTube videos of people doing the hot water challenge and her cousin dared her to do it. The young child did and died from the internal burns she received from drinking the hot water.
At Goldstein & Bashner, we have represented many victims of bullying and understand the long-lasting physical and emotional damages these incidents can have on children and teens. We are horrified to hear of this incident and our heart goes out to the young victim, as well as to her family and the family of the young Florida girl.
If your child has been a victim of bullying – whether emotional, physical, or cyber bullying – contact our office today for a free, no obligation case evaluation.
Goldstein and Bashner
