Jamoneisha's relatives said she was a :kindhearted" girl who thought the others at the sleepover were her friends (pictured before attack). Photo / Facebook
Jamoneisha's relatives said she was a :kindhearted" girl who thought the others at the sleepover were her friends (pictured before attack). Photo / Facebook
By Jennifer Smith
Warning Graphic Images, Distressing Content.
These are the excruciating injuries of an 11-year-old girl who had boiling water poured over her by a friend at a sleepover.
Jamoneisha Merritt is in hospital in Harlem, New York, with second degree burns to her face, shoulders and back, areseverely burned and have skin missing.
Aniya Grant Stuart, the 12-year-old who threw the water on her, is in a different hospital after trying to take her own life.
Jamoneisha's mother shared this photograph online to warn other children of how dangerous the prank can be. Photo / Facebook
She sat up suddenly, screaming and crying, and was taken to hospital.
"Her friends wanted to play the hot water challenge and that's what happened," Ebony said on social media, sharing a photograph of her little girl screaming in agony as doctors tried to treat her burns.
Jamoneisha remains in the intensive care unit at Harlem Hospital Center.
Shernett Panton, Aniya's mother, said the incident occurred at around 4am.
She told New York Daily News her daughter was retaliating after Jamoneisha threw cold water on her earlier in the day.
"They always prank each other. My daughter was sleeping and Jamoni poured cold water on Aniya.
"My daughter was like, 'OK, if you're gonna do a prank on me, I'm gonna prank you back.'
"But my daughter - I don't know what she was thinking - boiled hot water and poured it on Jamoni's face," she said.
Jamoneisha Merritt, 11, is in hospital with second degree burns after having boiling water poured over her as she slept by a friend at a sleepover. Photo / NBC New York
After learning how seriously she'd hurt her friend, she tried to kill herself.
Her mother condemned her behavior but said: "What she did was really wrong, but it's too much right now.
"I was told that they didn't like her. And they just been bullying her," she told Spectrum News 1.
Ki'Ari Pope, eight, died earlier this month after drinking boiling water through a straw. Photo / GoFundMe
The prank is a variation of a similar trend which saw another girl, 11, die after drinking boiling water through a straw.
Eight-year-old Ki'ari Pope died earlier this month after copying a video of others doing the same.
WHERE TO GET HELP:
If you are worried about your or someone else's mental health, the best place to get help is your GP or local mental health provider. However, if you or someone else is in danger or endangering others, call police immediately on 111.
