A 12-year-old boy was hospitalized with severe burns after his friends poured boiling water on his face during a sleepover prank that went horribly wrong.
The boy, who was asleep at his neighbor’s apartment in Tifton, Georgia, was unaware of the prank as three other boys, aged 12 to 15, played video games nearby, his mother, Tiffany West, told WALB.
According to Ms. West, one of the boys thought it would be funny to pour hot water on the sleeping child, resulting in second-degree burns, primarily on his face.
The boy was rushed to a burn center in Augusta for surgery and is now recovering at home, Ms. West shared. She expressed her anger and distress over the dangerous prank that injured her son.
“I can’t even describe it. I was just so mad, hurt, and in shock. I was seeing red, just trying to get him help as fast as possible,” she said.
The three boys were arrested but later released to their families as they await court hearings next month, according to reports.
The boy’s aunt, Nachelle Austile, asked him if he felt “mad or sad,” but he showed no emotion after returning home.
“He’s numb about it,” she said. “You must be in shock to realize your friends are capable of doing this to you. Someone you trusted—it’s just horrible. He never thought something like this would happen to him.”
