A North Carolina mother was arrested after she allegedly hurled acid at her son and a teenage girl after a heated argument about a phone.
Kendra Lafaye McDougald, 33, was charged with two counts of felony assault inflicting serious bodily injury, two counts of assault by throwing acid or alkali, one count of felony child abuse, and assault with a deadly weapon, according to an arrest warrant seen by Law & Crime.
She is accused of throwing a “hot liquid substance” on her 15-year-old son, and a 14-year-old girl at Pinewood Apartments on Ponderosa Drive, Dunn at around 3pm on October 20, reported the outlet.
Neighbors and the 15-year-old’s uncle believe the acid was a hot water-bleach mix, reported WRAL.
“Upon arrival, officers encountered several individuals on the property that had been involved in an altercation,” said Dunn Police Chief Cary Jackson. “There were two juveniles on location suffering from burns that were obtained from a hot liquid substance that was thrown.”
Chief Jackson added that the pair were taken by Dunn Emergency Services to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.
One of the juveniles – believed to be the girl, as per Law & Crime – was reported to have sustained severe injuries including first- and second-degree burns across her chest which required “advanced treatment” at a burn center.
Larry McDougald, the uncle to the 15-year-old boy, told WRAL that he was watching football on the day when he heard yelling outside of the apartment complex on Ponderosa Drive.
“This turned into something I have never seen before in my life. When I got back there, I [saw] my little nephew hollering and screaming. He got burned [really badly] across the chest”, he told the station.
He added that crowds of nearly “40 people” had gathered during the incident and in the chaos people had been “throwing stuff through the windows.”
The accused is said to have worked as an officer at the Johnston Correctional Institution in Smithfield, North Carolina, the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction told Law & Crime. She has resigned following the arrest.
McDougald posted a $125,000 bond and is expected at a court hearing on December 10.
