Jamoneisha Merritt a Bronx girl is a victim of ‘hot water challenge’ by her best friend during sleepover. The casualties of a new social media craze.
It will be a sleepover party that eleven year old Bronx, New York schoolgirl, Jamoneisha Merritt will likely never forget after she became the victim of a fellow of 12 year old girl throwing boiling hot water over her as part of a new social media trend, the ‘hot water challenge.’
The scalding led to Merrit incurring second degree burns along her face, shoulders and back, with the girl needing likely skin grafts.
A report via CBS New York told of the two girls being ‘best friends’ when at some point during the Monday night sleepover, the 12 year old girl decided to carry out the ‘hot water challenge’ on her unsuspecting ‘best friend’.
The challenge which is part of a new social media prank involves throwing scalding hot water on an unsuspecting victim.
According to Jamoneisha’s mother Ebony Merritt, the attacker waited until her victim went to sleep then boiled water and filled a cup with it.
From there, the ‘best friend’ poured the scalding hot water on Jamoneisha’s head, neck, face and chest.
She sat up suddenly, screaming and crying, and was taken to hospital in Harlem, where she currently remains in intensive care.
Posted the mother on Facebook, ‘Her friends wanted to play the hot water challenge and that’s what happened,’ alongside a photograph of Jamoneisha screaming in agony as doctors tried to treat her burns.
The victim’s mother told of sharing photographs of her daughter’s injuries in an attempt to show children how dangerous the prank is.
Offered the concerned mom via Spectrum News 1, ‘I can’t take it down. I need for these kids to know how serious this is ‘.
In the wake of the ‘incident’ family members described Jamoneisha as a ‘caring’ and ‘kindhearted’ little girl, while expressing their incredulity that anyone would want to hurt the eleven year old girl.
Aniya Grant Stuart tries to kill herself after pouring hot water over 11 year old best friend
Adding fissure are claims from Jamoneisha’s mom, claiming other children had been bullying her daughter and that they often picked on her.
Offered Jamoneisha’s cousin, Yolanda Richardson, ‘Her and her friend got into an argument and (the suspect) told her if she go to sleep they were going to do something to her’.
The attack has led to the girl being ‘confused’ and ‘upset’ by the attack by what she thought they were her friends.
Reiterated the victim’s mother, ‘She’s very sad. She’s emotionally messed up,’
‘She don’t understand why they did that to her. She thought they was her friends.’
‘I was told that they didn’t like her. And they just been bullying her’.
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.
Prosecutors are now considering whether to press felony charges against Jamoneisha’s attacker.
