Bullying is never okay, but one 13-year-old girl girl is recovering from a particularly frightening encounter after a classmate set her hair on fire, even as other kids looked on and laughed.
According to CBS Philadelphia, 8th-rader Nevaeh Robinson was waiting at a bus stop two blocks away from Gompers School when her classmate used a lighter to set her hair ablaze.
“When it happened, I panicked real fast, because I thought I was going to die because it burned my hair so fast,” the young teen told the news station.
The brave 13-year-old used her hands to put the fire out with her hands, even as other kids laughed, instead of helping her. Nevaeh sustained first-degree burns and had inches of her hair singed off, and bald spots and patches around her hairline.
However it is thanks to the hairstyle she had that day that her injuries weren’t worse, her mother said.
“The doctor told me her hairstyle saved her life,” mom Tanya Robinson said. “Had it been different, she might not be here.”
Now Robinson wants her daughter’s tormentor to be severely punished.
“I want expulsion if you’re setting kids on fire,” the infuriated mom said. “I called the police as soon as they came home, took her to the hospital, the fire chief came out. I’ve spoken to the school district, I’ve spoken to the principal at the school.”
The Philadelphia police are investigating, while the Philadelphia School District has released a statement saying that “this type of violence is unacceptable.”
“We cannot comment on specific instances of school discipline, however this type of violence is unacceptable. School District did follow its policy and procedure on this matter,” the statement read.
In the meantime, Nevaeh is wearing a scarf on her head to cover up the damage done, and her mother is preparing her for homeschooling in a couple of weeks.
