6-year-old Dominick Krankall a resident of Bridgeport, Connecticut was going downstairs to his backyard to play like any other day when he was viciously attacked by his bully.
Dominick Krankall’s body is mostly swollen because of a vicious attack he faced this Sunday. Dominick’s older sister Kayla Deegan says her little brother was playing in their backyard with other children who live below their home.
Kayla recalls the fateful day, “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.'”
Dominick’s bully is allegedly their 8-year-old neighbor who according to the victim’s family has had a history of bullying the 6-year-old boy. Dominick’s family believes his bully got into a shed on the property where he was able to access gasoline and lighters. After he had secured these items, he called an unsuspecting 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 Deegan said.
Dominick was immediately rushed to Bridgeport Hospital just before 4 p.m on the day of his attack. The police have said they are currently investigating a report of 4 unattended minors in the area playing with gasoline and lighting objects on fire.
Medical professionals at the hospital treating Dominick say that he will make a recovery. But the 6-year-old’s family is not satisfied. They are enraged at the bully and his family, stating that this is not the first time the 8-year-old bully has required Dominick to go to the hospital.
According to Dominick’s sister, he had previously been attacked by the bully about two months ago. During that incident, the children were being supervised by their neighbor, the bully’s mother!
“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,” said Dominick’s older sister Kayla Deegan.
The incident is currently under investigation but no charges have been filed as of yet. Dominick’s family is praying for justice and wants to get his story out into the world so that someone is able to do something about it.
The family has also set up a GoFundMe campaign to help with the hospital expenses that have come with treating Dominick’s injuries and helping the family relocate as well. In the information about the fundraiser, his sister shared the heartbreaking details of Dominick’s attack and subsequent condition.
Dominick’s sister Kayla Deegan wrote on the GoFundMe page that, while talking is a task for the 6-year-old right now, he told his mother “Please don’t take me back there,” referring to their home.
She shared that the 6-year-old was barely able to speak or eat because of his swollen lips and burned face. The family is beside itself with sadness at having to witness the lively child in so much pain and not being able to do anything about it.
As for the bully, Kayla writes that his family is treating the alleged attack as a “joke” and thinks the 8-year-old is innocent. Dominick’s mother shared on Facebook that while investigators were at their home, their neighbors whose son is involved in the alleged attack were “lighting lighters” in their windows and taking the whole horrific tragedy as a “joke”.
What happened to little Dominick is absolutely heartwrenching and reminds us that we need to stamp out bullying completely.
Help spread the word about Dominick’s attack so no other child has to go through a similar fate.
