Boy Lit Another Boy on Fire, Sat Down, Lit Cigarette, Watched Him Burn

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A 7-year-old boy has been hospitalized with severe burns after another boy doused him with nail polish remover and set him on fire.

A 7-year-old Missouri boy has been hospitalized with severe burns to his face and arms after another young boy doused him with nail polish remover, set him on fire, then lit a cigarette and sat down “to watch him burn to death,” the victim’s mother said.

The horrifying incident occurred Monday in Independence, Missouri when 7-year-old Julien was playing outside the family’s apartment at Hawthorne Place, near U.S. 24 and Missouri 291.

The boy’s mother, Ashley Lyons was not home at the time but Julien was with an older brother and another adult. It is not clear why the other boy threw the nail polish remover on Julien and then set him on fire.

This child basically dumped nail polish remover all over my son,” Lyons said. “My son kept saying ‘Stop. What are you doing?’ Julien kept telling him to leave him alone and that’s when he decided to burn him.”

Kansas City Star reports: Lyons said the other boy’s mother was present when the incident happened but did not help her son. Julien said there was a bucket of water nearby.

A neighbor ran out with a wet towel and rolled Julien on the ground. An ambulance and police arrived. Lyons was not able to see her son until he was out of surgery, but she has been with him all week at Children’s Mercy Hospital.

It’s a very painful process for him,” Lyons said of her son. “There is a lot of anxiety. There is a lot of anger. There is a lot of confusion. He’s trying to maintain the best that he can, for a 7-year-old.

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Julien Sandlin, 7, may need skin grafts after being set on fire by another child, his mother said.

Julien’s grandmother, Vicki Test, said the family has to be strong to give Julien confidence that everything is going to be OK.

We had to reassure him that he was not ugly,” Test said. “He’s a beautiful baby inside and out. I love my grandson so much, no matter what he looks like.”

Lyons said Julien is a resilient boy.

He’s a very loving child, he loves to love more than receive love, that’s for sure,” she said. “He has a great personality. He’s a class clown. Anything he can do to keep people happy or smiling. He’s a light when he walks in the door.

Lyons said she was not contacted by Independence police until Thursday but they told her they were investigating. A police spokesman did not return requests for information.

A GoFundMe page by Friday afternoon had raised nearly $3,000 of a $10,000 goal to pay for medical expenses.

Baxter Dmitry

Baxter Dmitry

Baxter Dmitry is a writer at The People's Voice. He covers politics, business and entertainment. Speaking truth to power since he learned to talk, Baxter has travelled in over 80 countries and won arguments in every single one. Live without fear.
Email: baxter@thepeoplesvoice.tv
Baxter Dmitry

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