A Philadelphia girl is recovering after a boy burned her hair with a lighter at a bus stop.
Navaeh Robinson, 13, an 8th grade student at Samuel Gompers Elementary School in the city’s Overbrook section, told NBC10 she was at a bus stop near 57th Street and Malvern Avenue last week when another student armed with a lighter suddenly attacked her.
“He came up from behind me after he picked up the lighter from the floor and said, ‘Hey Navaeh,’ and lit it on fire,” she said. “He left and started laughing.”
Robinson said the attack was completely random. She was taken to the hospital and treated for her injuries. The hair on the front of her head is now gone due to the burns.
She returned to class this week and was met by hugs as well as some friends who were in tears. When she walked home, she had a police escort. Her mother, Tanya Robinson, now wants the boy who burned her to be arrested and charged.
“I would like to see him arrested because setting human beings on fire is not a joke,” Tanya Robinson said. “It’s not funny or a game. It could have been a death sentence.”
NBC10 reached out to the Philadelphia School District for comment.
“We cannot comment on specific instances of school discipline, however this type of violence is unacceptable,” the spokesperson said. “The school district did follow its policy and procedure on this matter.”
Robinson told NBC10 the boy who attacked her daughter wasn’t in school Wednesday. She’s calling for a meeting with the mayor.
“I would like for him to pay attention to this issue,” she said. “Our children are not getting to school safe or coming home safe.”
The District Attorney’s Office is currently reviewing possible charges against the boy, including aggravated assault, simple assault and arson.
