lit match
Jade Small
Jade Small
January 1, 2024 ·  4 min read

‘Mommy They Lit Me on Fire’: 6-Year-Old Burned in Horrific Bully Attack, Family Says

Correction Notice (02/16/2023): It was initially claimed by Dominick Krankall’s family that he was deliberately burned in a bully attack. However, officials said, “there is nothing on the video portraying any of the children deliberately injuring the other.” After reviewing the video, authorities say four children, ages 6, 7, 8, and 11, were playing together in a backyard on the day of the incident. The youngest children were seen playing with fire and gasoline, according to police. The cause of the burns appears to be accidental. More info here.

Bullies are the bane of many children’s existence. Even in this progressing and forward-thinking year of 2022, we still face a big problem with bullies running wild. We all know that being a bully is a symptom of a much larger problem, but that doesn’t take away the trauma that some children face by their hands. Young Dominick Krankel might agree. He was sent to the hospital for third-degree burns because a boy, known for bullying him, through a gasoline-drenched tennis ball in his face. Regardless, his mother reports that Dominick is in “high spirits.”

He Drenched a Tennis Ball in Gasoline

The day started like any other. Dominick was going outside to play, and his mother was confident he would be fine. He went outside to meet up with some of the neighborhood children, and that’s when calamity truck. Rua, Dominick’s mother said she heard him screaming from outside. She ran to meet him. She said: “I heard him screaming, ‘Mommy, help me. They set me on fire.”

Dominick loves the outdoor said his mother. He loves to fish, ride his bicycle, play soccer. She said that since the incident doctors told her that her son cannot be exposed to the sun for fear of blistering. 'Dominick loves to be outdoors but he will now have restrictions and it going to be a different type of summer for him,' Maria Rua, his mother said
Krankall Family

Any mother would just about die of shock if they heard their child scream this. So, you can only imagine what Rua went through. Seeing her little boy in clothes that were still smoking. It must have been very traumatic for them both. Rua went on to describe what she saw when Dominick ran towards her: “His leg was still smoking, and his face was bright red.”

Dominick’s bully had reportedly drenched a tennis ball in gasoline and threw it at Dominique’s face. They had been playing at the time, but the older boy was clearly out to get him. This was not the first time either. According to reports, Dominick has an eight-year-old neighbor who had been terrorizing the little six-year-old for about a year before the tennis ball incident. Once he even chased Dominick with an Axe. His mother said he even had a concussion when the same bully had knocked him over by hitting him with a pillow. 

Dominick Justino Krankall, six, has been in the hospital since April 24 when he sustained serious burns to his face and leg after an eight-year-old bully threw a ball, that he doused with gasoline, lit it and threw it at his face. Dominick is recovering from second and third-degree burns at Bridgeport Hospital. Doctors told his mom that he may need surgery on his forehead
Krankall Family

Plans To Move

Little boys should never be raised in fear, and rather they should have the comfort and security to feel like they can explore the world without being scared to go outside. Dominick’s parents have said they plan to relocate to a different town so that he doesn’t feel the need to look behind him where ever he goes. 

“Somewhere he’ll never have to worry about walking outside and something terrible like this ever happening ever again.” his father describes. In the efforts to help her little nephew start a fresh chapter, so she organized a GoFundMe page for little Dominick to help his parents with the relocation process – moving is expensive!

Read: Teenager Froze to Death After Father Threw Him Out of the House for Cannabis Use

Dominick Has Some Healing to Do

His parents are concerned for their son, and how his face will heal after the third-degree burns. So far, the Bridgeport Hospital that Dominick was admitted to have managed to prevent him from needing surgery immediately, but they are fearful they won’t be able to avoid it much longer as the burns were more severe in some places. Rua said: 

“There is still a slight chance that he may need surgery on his forehead where the ball initially hit him, and that’s a deeper burn. It’s not healing like it should be, like other parts of his face have healed,” says Rua “We’re just taking that one day at a time, to see if they’re going to have to do some type of surgery in that area or not. He had lost his eyebrows and some of his hair. He may suffer from permanent discoloration on his face and the doctors said that he cannot be in the sun because  his skin cannot be exposed for fear it may blister back up.

His father is worried about the scars that might be left after the healing is done. This is normal for any parent, they want their children to grow up free of insecurities, so we can leave vanity out if this.  Aaron Krankel said: “But we’re just trying to be hopeful. The power of prayer really did work, because even the doctors are like, ‘This is phenomenal how well he looks.'”

Dominick getting a piggy back from his dad, Aaron Krankall, while waving hello. His father has been at his beside since he was rushed to Bridgeport Hospital on April 24
Krankall Family

Dominick in “High Spirits”

Despite the obvious trauma that no child should ever go through, Rua reported that her son has remained in “high spirits” since the ordeal. He has even started removing the bandages by himself when the doctors come in the dress the wounds in fresh gauze. She describes him as her little “trooper.”
The community is showing full support for the little guy. Even holding a parade outside the hospital for Dominick to watch from his window. His mother was overjoyed by the support, and she said: “Not everybody is bad in the world. There’s good people, and that’s really showing right now, how many good people are in this world.”

Keep Reading: Texas Mom Home With 3 Sleeping Children Shoots, Kills Home Invader. State’s Castle Doctrine Protects Her.

Sources

  1. Connecticut boy, 6, who’s suffered life-changing burns after eight-year-old bully doused tennis ball in gasoline.The Daily Mail. Ruth Bashinky. May 2, 2022.
  2. Family Says Conn. Boy, 6, Severely Burned by ‘Bully’ Is in ‘Very Good Spirits’ as He’s Released from Hospital.” People. Wendy Grossman Kantor. May 03, 2022