A 12-year-old Bronx girl was arrested Monday after she dumped boiling water on an 11-year-old girl while she was asleep at a slumber party, police said Thursday.
The 11-year-old, identified by a police source as Jamoneisha Merritt, suffered second-degree burns to her face, neck, shoulders and chest, according to police. She was taken to Harlem Hospital Center in serious but stable condition, they said.
Jamoneisha’s mother, Ebony Merritt, told reporters outside of the hospital on Thursday that her daughter is doing “much better.”
“She’s in good spirits. She saw her face, she’s OK with it,” Merritt said. “She’s still traumatized but she’s doing better than what I thought she would do.”
The assault happened around 4:40 a.m. at the 12-year-old’s Concourse Village home near Findlay Avenue and East 166th Street, where she was hosting a sleepover, police said.
The two girls had gotten into a fight earlier in the evening, according to Jamoneisha’s cousin who spoke to WABC/7.
“Her and her friend got into an argument. She told her if she goes to sleep, they were gonna do something to her,” she said.
But a police source said it appears the girls had been horsing around and it got out of hand. Jamoneisha had pranked her attacker earlier by throwing water on her. At the end of the night, the girl decided to prank Jamoneisha back by throwing boiling water on her.
Police said they don’t believe the “boiling water challenge” that is gaining notoriety online was a factor at this time.
The 12-year-old, whose name was not released by police, was charged with assault as juvenile, police said.
