Boy (11) badly burnt after petrol bomb attack

Police in Northern Ireland are appealing for witnesses after an 11-year-old boy was struck by a petrol bomb in Co Derry.

Police in Foyle said the boy was playing in the Iniscarn Crescent area at around 4.45pm when the device was thrown at him. He was hit on the back.

The boy was taken to Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast for treatment to burn injuries but was described as being in a stable condition.

It’s believed two boys - described as around 12 or 13 years old - were involved in the incident. Police issued an appeal for them or anyone who can identify them to get in contact.

There was no ongoing disorder or anything of that nature in the area at the time, police confirmed.

The boy’s mother, Donna Grint, told BBC Radio Foyle she had been sitting out on the street when her injured son came running towards her.

“He came running down the street squealing ‘I’m on fire, I’m on fire, someone threw a petrol bomb and I’m on fire, I’m melting’.

“It was a harrowing scream,” she said. “I have never heard him scream like that before. I knew by the tone of his squeal that something was seriously wrong.

“The look on his face whenever he was running up toward me, it looked like something out of a horror movie. I wouldn’t wish it upon anybody.”

PSNI Chief Inspector Jon Burrows told the BBC the attack had been “horrendous”.

“This young man is very badly injured. I’m grateful that he’s not dead if I’m quite blunt,” he said. “We are shocked by this incident, even as hardened police officers.”