6-year-old Connecticut boy brutally burned, mother says he was bullied

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- A 6-year-old boy was hospitalized in Connecticut with severe burns to his face and leg which his parents said were the result of bullying.

"My 6-year-old son looked at me and he said, 'Daddy, he poured gasoline on a ball and he threw it directly into my face and he caught my face on fire with a fireball,'" the boy's father, Aaron Krankall, said.

The incident happened Sunday afternoon.

Dominick Krankall was playing in the backyard with the 8- and 11-year-old sons of a nearby family.

"There was no bullying, whatsoever, involved. None," Laura Giacobbe said.

Giacobbe said Dominick's mother, Maria Rua, had agreed to keep an eye on the boys while she went out.

At some point, a gas can was taken from a shed and a tennis ball was set on fire.

"She neglected these children outside. She neglected them. If your child is being bullied, would you leave your child out with somebody being bullied? That's the question," Giacobbe said.

"They can go outside, they'll be playing basketball for 5 or 10 minutes, and everything seems grand, and then maybe 10, 15 minutes goes by and someone gets pushed, someone gets tripped, someone gets hurt. And this has been going on and on and I am so sick of it," Aaron Krankall said.

Dominick was being treated for second and third-degree burns to his face and leg.

His father said last month Dominick suffered a concussion after being pushed by the same 8-year-old child.

"I will not stop, though, until this kid gets put away because this is not okay. I need justice for my son," Aaron Krankall said.

There is a security camera that overlooks that backyard and part of this incident was captured on surveillance video which police are reviewing as their investigation continues.