WARNING: This story contains a graphic image of a burn victim.
A woman in her 40s was arrested last week in Longueuil, Que., after allegedly throwing boiling water at a 10-year-old boy when he was walking by her home.
The Service de police de l’agglomération de Longueuil (SPAL) says the boy was scalded on Oct. 2 by a woman who lives in a multi-residential building near the intersection of Curé-Poirier Boulevard East and Chambly Road.
CBC News is not naming the boy because he is a minor who is the victim of violence.
The boy told Radio-Canada that he was walking home from school with friends in the city on the South Shore of Montreal and that they “took a shortcut” that passes in front of the woman’s residence.
His father, Tewa Pierre Senin, said the boy arrived home around 4 p.m., screaming, “Dad, someone threw boiling water on me. I’ve been burned!”
“It was unbearable,” Senin said.
The boy suffered serious burns to his head, face, torso and back.
The boy has significant scarring from the burns. (Radio-Canada)
“I called the police and since they were taking time to come, we rushed to bring the child to the hospital. And one hour later, police arrived,” Senin said.
The boy remains traumatized by the incident and has been fearful since, said his mother Marie Ettian.
After looking for the woman near the site of the alleged attack, the boy’s father asked her why she assaulted his son.
“She said the child had a habit of knocking at her door for the past three years, whereas we only came to the neighbourhood in January,” Senin said. “My son never did that.”
Not only has the family lived in the area for less than a year, but also the boy only started attending the school near the woman’s home a month ago, said his father.
She told me: ‘That’ll teach you to knock on people’s doors.’ – The victim
The woman was arrested and questioned by investigators.
Police say she faces charges of assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon.
She was released the same day on a promise to appear and under conditions, including not contacting the child and his family, said SPAL officer Mélanie Mercille.
But her release has left the family fearful.
“I fear for the other children too because [the woman’s home] is close to a school, and that scares me,” Ettian said.
Longueuil police are reminding the public to contact 911 when neighbourhood disputes arise rather than try to take the law into their own hands.
Based on reporting by Radio-Canada’s Karine Bastien and Stéphane Bordeleau, translated by Holly Cabrera