Heartbreaking photos show a 6-year-old boy from Connecticut covered in burns and bandages in the hospital, after his family said he was set on fire by a bully in a horrific attack.
Most of Dominick Krankall's body is now swollen and bandaged up after the Bridgeport boy suffered second- and third-degree burns to his face and legs on Sunday. The boy's sister, Kayla Deegan, said her brother was playing in the backyard of their home off Louisiana Avenue in the afternoon with other children who live below them.
"As soon as he walked down the stairs, the bully called his name and lured him over around the corner, and in a matter of seconds he came back around the corner screaming, saying 'Mommy, they lit me on fire,'" said Deegan.
She said that an 8-year-old neighbor got into a shed on the property, and he somehow gained access to some gasoline and lighters. That's when the boy called Deegan's little brother over.
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"What he did was pour gasoline on a tennis ball, took a lighter, lit it up and just chucked it right at my brother's face — and then ran away from him and watched him burn," Deegan said.
Dominick was rushed to the burn unit at Bridgeport Hospital just before 4 p.m. Police said Tuesday that they are investigating preliminary reports of four unattended children seen playing with gasoline and lighting objects on fire.
Hospital officials said that the boy is expected to recover. Dominick is lucky to have survived the incident, but what happened to him left loved ones outraged — because they said that this incident isn't the first time the alleged bully has put him in the hospital.
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"Two months ago under the bully’s mother's supervision, he was pushed into a wall and fell to the floor. And again, the mother refuses to admit her kid did it," said Deegan.
The family of the other boy did not wish to address the incident when reached at their home.
Police, fire, and the state fire investigation teams are investigating the cause of the child’s injuries, as well as the incident. As of Tuesday evening, no charges have yet been filed.
But Dominick's loved ones are calling for justice.
"It's heartbreaking, it's sickening to know the family. There's nothing being done about this," said Deegan. "This needs to be seen everywhere so everyone knows Dom’s story and what he had to go through, and the extent it went to for someone to hopefully do something."
The family is looking to raise money in order to help pay for the hospital expenses — and so they can move out, and find somewhere else safer to live.
