Six-year-old Connecticut boy severely burned after ‘bully’ allegedly throws flaming tennis ball at his face

A 6 year old boy in Connecticut was hospitalized for severe burns after another child threw a flaming tennis ball at his face in an act of bullying, according to the boy’s family.

Dominick Krankall, the 6 year old victim, was reportedly playing in his back yard when an 8 year old neighbor boy coaxed him to come over near a shed. The 8 year old had retrieved gasoline and a lighter from the shed and set a tennis ball alight before tossing it directly at Dominick’s face as he neared the shed, according to Dominick’s older sister, Kayla.

“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,” Kayla said.

“As soon as he walked down the stairs, the bully called his name and lured him over around the corner,” she told NBC New York. “In a matter of seconds he came back around the corner screaming, saying, ‘Mommy, they lit me on fire! They lit me on fire!’”

Dominick was taken to the burn unit at Bridgeport Hospital where he was treated. 

Dominick’s parents allege this is not the first incident of bullying involving the 8 year old who burned him. They say in a previous incident, Dominick was pinned against a wall by the older child while under the supervision of the child’s mother, who has denied the allegations. 

The family has started a GoFundMe page to raise funds for Dominick’s medical care.