Children in two states burn by acid on playground
A 2-year-old boy was critically burned Saturday after someone broke into an elementary school, stole several bottles of industrial-strength drain cleaner and splashed it all over the school's playground equipment, authorities said.
Officials continued to look for answers Friday after acid was found in a Leander park and a child was treated for minor burns.
Leander firefighters arrived at the Westwood community pool park about 7:45 p.m. Thursday and found muriatic acid, or hydrochloric acid, scattered across the grass, a slide and benches.
A 2-year-old girl was treated at the scene for minor burns she suffered after playing on a slide.
The little boy in Maryland apparently slid down the slide right into a pool of the stuff. The little girl in Texas was also burned from the slide. The little boy is scheduled to undergo skin grafts today to repair the damage to his legs.
The Texas incident happened Thursday and the acid used was muriatic acid, the Maryland incident happened on Saturday and the acid used was sulphuric acid.
It does seem odd that such incidents would happen within days of each other and be unrelated.
Some schools allow neighborhood children to play on the school playground on weekends. Had that not been the case, it's very possible the Maryland incident would have been far worse as dozens of children were let into the playground at the same time.
I really hope the catch whoever did this, although with our liberal courts, I doubt he'll get the punishment he deserves.
Posted by Danny Carlton at April 16, 2007 5:14 AM