Horrific new details have emerged after a man allegedly poured hot coffee over a baby boy in a park in Australia.
Police say a man fled the scene after allegedly pouring the coffee over the baby, who had been on a picnic with his mother in Hanlon Park in Brisbane at noon Tuesday.
The 9-month-old has undergone surgery for burns to his face and chest at Queensland Children’s Hospital and reportedly suffered serious burns to 60 percent of his body including his face, neck, chest and arms.
A friend of the mother, Zara Mazza, became emotional as she told The Project she was sitting down with her own son and looked up to see a man standing above her friend’s baby.
“This man was standing above him, behind him, and poured a Thermos of hot coffee over him. He just started screaming,” she told the program Wednesday night.
Mazza said she tried to chase the man but he was “very fast,” and she tripped while attempting to keep up.
“Essentially all I could hear was his mom screaming that it’s hot. ‘It’s hot, it’s hot coffee,’ so I ran back and as I ran back, picked up my water bottle and dumped it over him,” she said.
“I removed him from his mom and we laid him down on the picnic rug and we peeled his clothes away, which revealed the peeling of his skin, his skin had started to blister.”
Bystanders reportedly came over with water bottles to pour over the baby, before a nurse in training offered up a shower at her nearby apartment so water could constantly be running on him.
“Very grateful. The ambulance came really quickly, I think it was within five minutes. Police, too,” Mazza said.
“It was chaotic. It happened really quickly.”
The baby’s mother is reportedly “really traumatized” after the incident.
“She’s got a lot of anxiety right now. She’s not been able to sleep very well, if at all. So definitely struggling,” Mazza said.
Start your day with all you need to know
Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.
Thanks for signing up!
“Bub is in a stable condition … they say that he’ll need regular dressing changes under anesthetic over the next weeks. They don’t know how long, but, yeah. It’s gonna take a while.”
Waleed Aly, host of the news and current affair TV program “The Project,” also became emotional as he listened to Mazza talk about the horrific incident.
“This is really, really hard. I don’t … I don’t think any of us know what to say to you because we have never really seen anything quite like this,” Aly said.
“So we know it’s really hard for you to speak to us in this circumstance.
“We really appreciate that and thank you … all the very best to you and your friend and, of course, the baby.”
CCTV footage shows a man who police say may be able to help with their inquiries running out of the park and along a residential footpath.
He is wearing a black and blue checked long-sleeve shirt, khaki-colored shorts, black sneakers, a black hat and black-framed reading glasses.
Police describe him as 30 to 40 years old, of a proportionate build, with tanned skin.
The little boy was taken to a hospital in stable condition.
The family said they were traumatized and wanted the attacker caught, while a GoFundMe page has been launched to help cover medical costs for the baby.
“If you can help in any way by either donating or sharing. Would love to raise some money towards any medical or household costs to help ease the pressure off of my friend and her family while they take the time to be home and help their beautiful boy heal,” the fundraiser read.
Police want anyone who knows the man, or with information about the incident, to come forward.
