EXCLUSIVE: Connecticut boy, 6, who’s suffered life-changing burns after eight-year-old bully doused tennis ball in gasoline, lit it, and threw it in his face was ‘terrorized’ by him for more than a year – and was once chased with an ax
- WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES
- Dominick Krankall, six, was playing in the backyard of his family’s Bridgeport home with other children when the horrifying incident occurred
- His mother, Maria Rua, said her son has been terrorized by their eight-year-old neighbor, and his brother, 11, for more than a year
- On April 24, the bully lured Krankall to meet him around the corner of his home when he poured gasoline on a tennis ball, lit it and threw it at his face
- The young victim ran home screaming: ‘Mommy, they lit me on fire’
- Rua said her son has also been chased by the bully with an ax, and gave him a concussion in a separate incident, leaving him hospitalized
- Dominick, who is suffering from second-degree burns to his face and leg, is at Bridgeport Hospital
A six-year-old Connecticut boy who suffered serious burns when a lit tennis ball doused in gasoline was thrown at his face has been ‘terrorized’ for more than a year by a bully who once chased him with an ax and caused him to suffer a concussion when he knocked him over with a pillow, according to the victim’s mother.
Dominick Justino Krankall, suffered second and third-degree burns in the April 24 attack when his eight-year-old neighbor threw the ball doused in gasoline at him while they were playing in the backyard.
Rua told the DailyMail.com that when her son ran into their home screaming, ‘Mommy, they lit me on fire’, his legs were still smoking and his face was bright red.
‘It was horrifying,’ she said. ‘If he didn’t stop, drop and roll which he did after the fire started he may have died.’
His mother, Maria Rua, told DailyMail.com that her son is emotionally scarred by the year-long bullying which started when the family moved to Bridgeport.
Rua said that Dominick might need surgery on his forehead after this latest incident.
‘He had lost his eyebrows and some of his hair. He may suffer from permanent discoloration on his face and the doctors said that he cannot be in the sun because his skin cannot be exposed for fear it may blister back up,’ she said.
She added: ‘Dominick loves to be outdoors but he will now have restrictions and it going to be a different type of summer for him.’
Despite all that he has endured, Rua has called him a ‘trooper.’ She said that he has been helping the doctors change his bandages and has been giving himself his own medicine.
She said since the bandages were removed from his chin and he was able to eat a cheeseburger. ‘I got him a McDonald’s Happy Meal. He was so happy that he could swallow,’ his mother said.
Dominick Justino Krankall, six, has been in the hospital since April 24 when he sustained serious burns to his face and leg after an eight-year-old bully threw a ball, that he doused with gasoline, lit it and threw it at his face. Dominick is recovering from second and third-degree burns at Bridgeport Hospital. Doctors told his mom that he may need surgery on his forehead
Dominick loves the outdoor said his mother. He loves to fish, ride his bicycle, play soccer. She said that since the incident doctors told her that her son cannot be exposed to the sun for fear of blistering. ‘Dominick loves to be outdoors but he will now have restrictions and it going to be a different type of summer for him,’ Maria Rua, his mother said
Dominick surrounded by all his favorite stuffed animals is recovering at the hospital. His mother said if her son didn’t ‘stop, drop, and roll,’ after the fireball was thrown at him the outcome could have been very different. She said that his leg was smoking and his face was bright red when he ran home and said,’ Mommy they lit me on fire’
Rua said that her son had been terrorized by their eight-year-old neighbor, and his brother 11, but she is unable to move because she can’t afford to.
In the past year, Rua claims that her son’s bully once hit him so hard with a pillow that he fell backward, and suffered a concussion and was admitted to hospital overnight to be monitored.
In another incident, she said she saw her son being chased by the bully with an ax. And she claims that the boy and his brother also lit Dominick’s bicycle on fire.
She told DailyMail.com that she has spoken to the mother of her son’s bully on several occasions, but pleas to stop the behavior have gone ignored.
‘The mother hasn’t taken responsibility at all. She hasn’t shown an ounce of pity or compassion. My son almost burned to death and the mother still claims that my son did this to himself. That is impossible,’ Rua told Dailymail.com.
‘She is in denial and will never admit that her son did anything wrong.’
Rua said after the incident, the bully’s mother gave him an ice-cream cone while she prayed at her own son’s bedside.
She added that the bully, who attends Read Elementary School with her son, was recently removed from school after he threatened to shoot it up. And she claimed that they moved him to a different school for children with behavioral issues.
Dominick and his mom, Maria Rua. Mom called her son a ‘trooper,’ and hasn’t left his bedside since the horrific attack. She is keeping his spirits up and was able to get him a McDonald’s Happy Meal. She said he was so happy that he was able to swallow the cheeseburger
Dominick getting a piggy back from his dad, Aaron Krankall, while waving hello. His father has been at his beside since he was rushed to Bridgeport Hospital on April 24
Rua said that her son might need surgery on his forehead after this latest incident. ‘He had lost his eyebrows and some of his hair. He may suffer from permanent discoloration on his face and the doctors said that he cannot be in the sun because his skin cannot be exposed for fear it may blister back up,’ she said
‘These kids are bullies and physically abusive. They even threatened that they would light me on fire. They are angry kids and they are going to hurt someone,’ she said.
When the ambulance arrived her fiancé, Aaron Krankell went to the hospital with their son but she was handcuffed and detained by Bridgeport Police who questioned her about the incident.
‘They police claimed that I neglected to take care of the neighbor’s kids and they put me in the back of the police car interrogating me for at least 20 minutes and keeping me from getting to the hospital to be with my son,’ Rua said.
She also said that a day after the incident the bully’s mother contacted Department of Family and Children Services to report her.
‘She said my kids had no clothes or food which when they came they quickly realized that wasn’t the case at all,’ Rua said.
‘This child needs help. He is only eight,’ Rua said. ‘He is crying out for help and no one is paying attention to him.’
Dominick, who loves being outdoors, is pictures smiling after making a big catch in a photograph taken a few days before he was severely burned. His mother said the family were planning on going fishing on the day of the attack
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