8 NYC Children Burned In Homemade Acid-Bomb Attack - wcbstv.com

8 NYC Children Burned In Homemade Acid-Bomb Attack - wcbstv.com

2 Williamsburg Kids Hospitalized After Suffering Severe Burns To Their Eyes; Neighbors Cite Tension Between 2 Buildings.

Two children suffered serious burns and six others were injured after someone threw a bottle containing dangerous chemicals at them while they played outside over the weekend in Brooklyn.



The incident happened about 8 p.m. on Sunday at S. 8th Street in the Williamsburg section of the borough. One of the victims, 10-year-old Yaakov Frankel, along with several witnesses told police that someone ran out of a building across the street from the courtyard where children were playing and tossed the homemade device at them. An explosion that released some sort of Drano-type mix got into the eyes of Frankel and a 12-year-old girl, causing them to be hospitalized. Six other children suffered burns and were treated at the scene.

"They were playing and all of a sudden a bottle came in with liquid, and it spins around and exploded into their eyes and [onto] the clothes of the kids," said Hindy Frankel, Yaakov's mother. "Everybody ran!"

The two injured children were kept in Bellevue overnight as their eyes were flushed out. What has residents even more upset is that they believe police had a chance to prevent the incident from happening when they called about rocks being thrown at them from the same building.

"They came in, they looked into it and [said], 'OK, we can't do anything. We don't see anybody,'" said Yaakov's father, Pincus Frankel.

Members of the predominantly orthodox Jewish community who live on the side of S. 8th Street where the incident happened are clear about who they think was behind the attack.

"From this building over here, #176, there were a few people who came out and were just being very wild," said Abraham Shaya. "Neighbors over here are suffering very much from this building over here. Very wild, making noise at 12 o'clock in the middle of the night."

Police say, however, this was not a bias incident. Over on the other side of South 8th, which is heavily Latino, a neighbor was quick to say there were no tense feelings between the two communities and that she hadn't heard any loud noise.

Meanwhile, one of the mothers from the building where the children got hurt said a year ago, there was a fire in that other building. She told CBS 2's Pablo Guzman, "OK, look: maybe our children don't play together; but, we came across the street to help them with blankets, with shoes, with socks. When there's time of need, we come together," she said. "So why fight?"

Doctors told the parents it could be at least five days before the children's eyes are somewhat "normal" again. In the meantime, they are still experiencing a lot of burning and irritation.