Virginia Mother Outraged, Seeking Justice After Son Was Severely Burned By His Classmate Who Lit His Hair on Fire

A Virginia teenage girl faces serious charges after allegedly lighting her classmate’s hair on fire. The 13-year-old burn victim’s mother says he “mentally is broken.”

On Wednesday, Jan. 12, the episode happened at John Rolfe Middle School in Henrico. According to the unidentified mother, who wants to protect her son’s privacy, the young boy’s classmate allegedly lit his hair on fire while his class was eating lunch in the classroom due to mandated COVID-19 protocols. When the boy went to throw his lunch tray away, the female classmate trailed behind him and pulled out a lighter, WWBT reports.

The boy is currently at VCU Medical Center sustaining second and third-degree burns. A school administrator notified the mother about the assault.

“All I could hear the teacher say over the phone was something is happening with my son,” she recalled.

Police officers and the Henrico Fire department were at the school by 12:30 p.m. and determined the boy’s injuries were not fatal.

The boy’s mother recalls her son’s shoulder-length hair was burned down to his scalp. The side of his head was singed to one of his ears. Also, his neck was scarred and blistered from the burns.

“He was hysterical; he looked scared,” the mother said. “His pride emotionally and mentally is broken.”

At first, the school did not seek to press criminal charges against the student. However, she was relentless in receiving justice for her son.

“What if this was your child? What would you be, would you be livid, would you be devastated, how would you feel? Would you feel supported by Henrico County Schools?” she expressed to WWBT.

On Thursday, Jan. 13, the Henrico Fire Marshal’s Office officially charged the girl with unlawful wounding. County agencies are working jointly to investigate the assault, Henrico Citizen reports.

“You can’t just brush this under the rug and think that it’s going to just go away. It’s not. My son is severely hurt, he’s suffering, and it’s not fair to me, it’s not fair to him, so y’all just need to be held accountable,” said the child’s mother who feels the school is not doing enough and is minimizing her child’s traumatic ordeal.

The teenage girl who torched her classmate’s hair will appear in a juvenile and domestic court later in the year. The date of her court proceeding was not disclosed to the public.