A young boy was has been left with horror injuries after a bully set him on fire with a petrol-soaked tennis ball.
Dominick Krankall, six, was playing in his back garden with neighbours on Sunday when the brutal attack took place, the Daily Star reports.
The schoolboy, from Connecticut, US, was rushed to hospital with severe third-degree burns to his face and leg.
Speaking to news outlet NBC, his sister Kayla Deegan said: "As soon as he walked down the stairs, the bully called his name and lured him over around the corner, and in a matter of seconds he came back around the corner screaming, saying 'Mommy, they lit me on fire'."
She claimed that an eight-year-old neighbour had gained access to a shed on the property and got his hands on petrol and lighters before calling Dominick over.
"What he did was pour gasoline on a tennis ball, took a lighter, lit it up and just chucked it right at my brother's face — and then ran away from him and watched him burn," Kayla said.
Dominick was taken to the burns unit at nearby Bridgeport Hospital where he is still being treated.
Police have said they are investigating reports of multiple children setting things on fire with petrol but, as of Tuesday evening, no charges have been filed.
Kayla also claimed that this isn't the first time the "bully" has targeted Dominick.
She said: "Two months ago under the bully’s mother's supervision, he was pushed into a wall and fell to the floor. And again, the mother refuses to admit her kid did it."
A GoFundMe has since been set up by Dominick's family to help with hospital bills and also raise funds to allow the family to move away from the neighbourhood where the young boy is being terrorised.
It has already raised a staggering $273,000 (£217,000), smashing the $50,000 (£39,000) target.
Kayla wrote on the fundraising page that her brother "could've died", adding that "he's going to be scarred for life mentally and physically".
In an update yesterday she thanked people for the "outpouring [of] support and love".
She also shared an update on Dominick's condition, writing: "Dominick is doing a little better. Yesterday was the first time he actually was able to get a few bites of food past his extremely swollen lips and into his mouth.
"He could only handle a few bites, but that is some good news. He will sip soup out of a straw as well."
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