A 12-year-old girl has been charged in connection with allegedly assaulting another girl with acid at a Detroit playground earlier this month, officials said.
The 12-year-old girl is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday for one count each of assault with intent to do great bodily harm and felonious assault, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release.
A preliminary hearing was held Saturday, according to the prosecutor’s office, and the minor suspect was released on a $10,000 bond.
“This is an extremely troubling set of allegations. Instant horrible decision making can have lifelong effects on others. There is no excuse for this,” Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in the news release.
The incident unraveled on July 9 at a local park in Detroit where the 12-year-old girl, who was not identified by authorities, was accused of attacking an 11-year-old girl with acid.
The suspect was ordered to have no contact with the victim or any witnesses, according to the prosecutor’s office. Officials did not say where the playground is or explain where the acid came from.
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‘Scar her for life’
The 11-year-old victim, who USA TODAY is not naming because she is a juvenile, and her family told local television stations that the attack happened while she, her younger siblings and her cousins were playing at a playground attached to an elementary school.
WDIV-TV reported that the 12-year-old suspect was involved in an argument with one of the victim’s cousins.
After the argument, the victim and her siblings left the playground. But she was doused in acid when she returned to retrieve a purse she dropped, according to the family’s GoFundMe. She sustained second and third-degree burns, and spent four days in a burn unit at a children’s hospital.
“I hope she gets everything she deserves,” the 11-year-old victim told WJBK-TV while wrapped with white gauze. “I just saw a shadow, and I was, like, I know when someone’s coming up behind me.”
The incident is under investigation by the Detroit Public Schools Community District, according to WJBK-TV.
“It is going to scar her for life,” the victim’s mother told WDIV-TV. “It was a traumatizing event that took place and she’s going to remember this the rest of her life.”
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com