Longmeadow, MA, is a small town in rural Massachusetts. Not a town with people attacking children or each other regularly. On June 11th, the fire and police departments all rushed to Bliss Park, where someone reported a suspicious substance on a slide. At roughly the same time, firefighters and EMTs were rushing to a home not far away, where two kids had just returned from the park and were coated in burns.
Police quickly ascertained that someone had broken into a storage room where the chemicals for cleaning the pool are kept. Some muriatic acid was missing. This chemical can be used for cleaning the pool or for adjusting the pH balance as well. Gathering samples, they were sent to the state’s forensic lab for extra analysis.
The Longmeadow Fire Department issued a vague description of the perpetrator. “We suspect that the perpetrators may have suffered acid burns to their hands or arms and their clothing may have indications of being degraded from contact with the acid. If you know of someone with new burns to their hands or arms or may have had burned clothing, please also notify Longmeadow police.”
With the playground cleaned off, they have elected to keep a fence up around it just in case.
Attacks like these are some of the most dastardly and cowardly. Kids playing on a playground and going down the slides isn’t hurting anyone. Those who live on the adjacent properties knew this was a park when they purchased their homes. Much the same, the people who did this knew exactly what they were doing. With any luck, they’ll be caught quickly and have some nice long conversations with their fellow inmates in gen pop.
