A pair of toddlers in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, suffered chemical burns this weekend after using slides at a local park’s playground that had been doused in muriatic acid.
An unknown suspect had broken into the city pool and stolen muriatic acid, a diluted form of hydrochloric acid used to maintain the pH balance in pools as well as for surface cleaning.
The thief or thieves then poured the chemical on three slides at nearby Bliss Park playground.
At around 9:40 a.m. Sunday, the Longmeadow Fire Department responded to the park after the burns were reported.
An investigation found that sometime Saturday night the perpetrator climbed over two fences, ripped off the cover to a ventilation shaft, broke into the pump room for the pool, and stole the acid.
Empty acid jugs were later found in nearby woods, and additional evidence, including fingerprints found at the scene, have been forwarded on to labs for analysis and possible identification of the thief.
At the same time, firefighters and emergency services visited the residence of Ashley Thielen and her family. Two of Ms. Thielen’s three children, a 2-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old boy, were the victims of chemical burns from the slides.
Ms. Thielen had noticed the liquid on the slides, but assumed it was rainwater.
“I didn’t really think much of it, and then, my baby, who is one, just started crying. That was when I knew this liquid that they were around was not water,” Ms. Thielen explained to Springfield, Massachusetts, TV station WGGB.
The wounds turned out to be relatively superficial and the children are doing fine, the mother said.
Neighbors suspect that the incident is a teen prank gone wrong.
“Why would you do that? You don’t want to hurt anybody, especially little kids, the most vulnerable people,” Longmeadow resident Doug Lamont told Boston station WBZ.
There are no surveillance cameras in Bliss Park, so Ms. Thielen is hoping that a neighbor might have recorded the suspects going by on a residential camera.
“I’m hoping people will check those cameras and see if they see anything out of the ordinary,” Ms. Thielen told WBZ-TV.
Anyone who noticed individuals acting suspicious in or around Bliss Park on Saturday are asked to call the Longmeadow Police Department. Law enforcement is also on the lookout for people with noticeable new acid burns to their clothing and extremities.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.