Juveniles Charged in Massachusetts for Acid Attack on Playground Slides, Leaving 4 Children Injured

Two unnamed minors face multiple charges including assault, battery with a dangerous weapon, and vandalism after breaking into a Longmeadow park's chemical storage and pouring muriatic acid on slides, causing injuries to four children earlier this summer.

Two unnamed minors have been charged with four counts of assault and battery on a child with injury, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and vandalism for dousing several slides with acid at a Massachusetts park, resulting in injuries to four children.
The juveniles allegedly broke into a storage room at the park where pool chemicals were kept and stole muriatic acid, commonly used for cleaning or maintaining a pool's pH balance.
The acid was poured on three slides at Bliss Park in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and left on the playground equipment, causing harm when children used the equipment.
The mother of the affected kids, Ashley Thielen, initially thought the collected liquid at the bottom of the slide was rainwater until one of her children started crying, prompting the discovery that it was acid.
The acid caused superficial blisters and swelling on the children's skin, but injuries could have been more severe, with the mother expressing surprise at the amount of acid collected at the bottom of the slide.
The indictment of the minors is a result of joint efforts by the Longmeadow and State police and the Hampden District Attorney’s juvenile unit, emphasizing their commitment to child safety and intolerance of harmful pranks or malicious acts.