Two children in Massachusetts were injured after coming into contact with acid that had been illicitly spread on playground slides. The incident occurred at Bliss Park in Longmeadow on a Sunday morning, prompting an immediate response from local police and fire departments. Simultaneously, emergency medical technicians were dispatched to a local residence where two children were reported to have burn-like injuries after visiting the playground.
Ashley Thielen, mother of the injured children, including a one-year-old, reported to Western Mass News that her children were in pain and crying after sliding through a puddle of acid. Thielen and her children were the first to arrive at the playground around 8:15 a.m. that Sunday. She noticed a liquid at the bottom of a slide but assumed it was harmless. “I just assumed it was rainwater,” she said. “I didn’t really think much of it, and then my baby, who is 1, just started crying. That was when I knew this liquid that they were around wasn’t water.”
Photos shared by Thielen showed her children’s legs swollen and blistered after coming in contact with the chemical. She expressed relief that the situation wasn’t worse, as her young son often dips his face into water while playing.
Investigations revealed that an individual or individuals had broken into a storage room at the park’s pool, stealing muriatic acid. This acid, a diluted form of hydrochloric acid, is typically used for cleaning or maintaining a pool’s pH balance. The acid was found to have been poured on three slides at the playground.
Evidence was collected from the scene and sent to a crime lab for forensic analysis and fingerprinting. As of Tuesday, no arrests had been made, but authorities suspect that the perpetrator(s) may have also suffered burns. The fire department issued a statement saying, “We suspect that the perpetrators may have suffered acid burns to their hands or arms and their clothing may have indications of being degraded from contact with the acid.”
The acid was cleaned up by a specialty contractor, but the playground remains closed. Additional cleaning crews are expected to arrive at the playground throughout the week, and it will remain closed until further notice as a precautionary measure.