Being the victim of a school bully is truly a terrible experience for any child. And what this bully did to a 13-year-old classmate is just vile.
According to The New York Daily News, Deandre Bloomfield, who walks with a heavy limp, has been hospitalised with second and third degree burns after allegedly being set on fire by a bully, who is also his classmate.
Reports say that Deandre, who has been previously bullied at school, was asked to come over to another boy’s house, where the bully sprayed cologne on him and then proceeded to set it on fire with a match.
The victim had reportedly tried to escape when the match was lit, but couldn’t because of his bad limp.
Deandre’s mother Ursula Allen said that her son has burns on his chest, neck and face that allegedly were not treated for hours since the bully’s sister and mother didn’t call 911 immediately.
Instead, they put the injured boy in the shower and changed his clothes before finally calling emergency services after two whole hours.
Ursula told Fox 5 “Deandre’s scarred for the rest of his life, and it’s not even the physical damage, it’s the mental damage because every night Deandre’s crying [at] like one, two o’clock with nightmares.”
Reports say that the bully has been “charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon, and has been released on bond.”
Meanwhile Deandre has already had 13 surgeries for his physical disability and will need many more after the burns.
Incidents like this remind us just how horrible bullying is and how dangerous — physically and mentally — it is for the victim.
Adults — parents, teachers and other care-givers — need to take adequate steps to stop bullying.
Read this theAsianparent article to found out how you can bully-proof your child.
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